IMPROVEMENTS IN OSSEOUS COMPOUNDS, INCLUDING METHODS AND PROCESSES FOR MANU-
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Morgan-Brown, of the Firm of Brandon and
Morgan-Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings,
London, and 1, Rue Laffitto, Paris, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
OSSEOUS COMPOUNDS, INCLUDING METHODS AND PROCESSES FOR MANU-
A communication from abroad by Isaiah Smith Hyatt,
FACTURING THE SAME,
of 1. Rue Lafitte. Paris."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Morgan-Brown at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th April 1880.
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-Brown,
Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London, and 1, Rue
Laffitte, Paris. "IMPROVEMENTS IN OSSEOUS COMPOUNDS, INCLUDING METHODS
AND PROCESSES FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME." A communication from abroad
by Isaiah Smith Hyatt of 1, Rue Lafitte, Paris."
This Invention has relation to the production of a material having the general
appearance and many of the characteristics of ivory, the material itself, as well as
the processes by which it is produced, being new in the arts.
It depends upon this that bone dust when subjected to suitable heat and
pressure becomes welded so as to form a solid homogeneous mass; and further, that
by combining therewith appropriate water-repellants, the material is rendered
impervious to moisture, and its character otherwise enhanced.
It has been further discovered certain desirable methods of practising the
Invention which are hereinafter described, and which, with the ingredients
employed, are in part the subject of this Specification.
I describe horeinafter several desirable methods of carrying out the Invention
which may be made use of at will, according to the inclination of the operator and
the circumstances of the case.
One method practiced with very satisfactory results involves the employment of
bone dust or its equivalent, gums, oils, or other appropriate water-repellants and an
acid. I include within the words bone dust or its equivalent any and every form
of dust or powder produced from bone, ivory, horn, or other animal substance.
Any kind of vegetable gum may be employed, but it is recommended to use shellac
or copal, especially the former, and in lieu of a gum, an oil or other water-repellant
may be made use of if preferred. Any acid will produce a result, but I prefer
the crystallizable, acids, particularly boracic, which posseses marked advantages.
It will be seen therefore that the materials used may be varied within certain
Duine 31

page_text: general limitations, and that a large variety of substances may be made use of
without essentially changing the result.
The form in which the materials are used is a matter of judgment, and may bo
varied if desired.
It being difficult to obtain a satisfactory quality of bone dust, I manufacture
from selected bone a perfectly clean and dry powder entirely free from grease in
any form. It is important that every trace of grease be removed, as its presence,
even in very small quantities, may prejudice the result. An excellent powder
can be produced by breaking the bone into small pieces, and washing it in a
tumbling barrel. One per cent. of carbonate of soda may be added to the water,
and the barrel actuated for, say, an hour. The solution should then be drawn off,
and the barrel filled with a fresh admixture of the same character and strongth,
and again actuated for a period of, say, four or five hours. The bone will then be
thoroughly washed to remove the soda, and after being properly dried will be
ground in any convenient way.
To serve as the water-repellant I have prepared a solution consisting of four
parts of bleached shellac, one part of borax, and sixteen parts of water, the
ingredients being thoroughly dissolved by heating the water or otherwise. The
water is employed chiefly as a vehicle, as hereinafter explained, so that the
proportion given is not essential; but the quantity specified is convenient, and
effectuates satisfactorily the objects for which it is used.
The bone dust and solution of gum having been thus made ready are brought
together in the proportion of seventeen pounds of bone dust to twenty one pounds
of the solution of gum and thoroughly mixed. This may be conveniently
accomplished by grinding the two together in a paint mill, or mill of analogous
construction, in which case the water perforins a useful function as a vehicle in
conveying the elements of the solution, so that they are brought directly in contact
and united with the particles of dust. If it be desired to color the material, the
colouring matter should be introduced at the time the dust and solution of gum are
brought together, and with them subjected to the grinding action of the mill.
The color may be applied in the form of either a solution or pigment according to
circumstances.
After the bone-dust and solution of gum, in the proportions hereinbefore stated,
have been properly united, the admixture is placed in an evaporating pan, and one
and one-half pounds of boracic acid in the formn of crystals added. The complete
formula, therefore, will be of bouc-dust seventeen parts, of the solution of gum
twenty one parts, of boracic acid one and one-half parts. The effect of the boracic
acid will be to precipitate the shellac, to facilitate which the contents of the pan
should be constantly stirred until nearly all of the water has disappeared.
From the evaporating-pan the material is transferred to a dryer of any appropriate
construction, where it is carefully treated to free it from the water which reinains.
In this step it is important that the material be removed from the dryer as soon
as the separation of the aqueous particles has been fully accomplished.
The desiccation of the material having been effected it may be treated with a
small percentage of alcohol to render it more fusiblo when it is ready for the mold
or dio.
The molds or dies are of any convenient construction adapted to the performance
of the duty imposed upon them. The material is introduced and subjected to an even
continuous pressure of, say, two tons to the square inch, at a temperature of, say,
from two hundred and fifty to two hundred and seventy five degrees Fahrenheit,
the pressure being continued for, say, from five to twenty minutes, according to
the thickness of the article, and other circumstances, the essential consideration
being, as herein before stated, the effectual welding of tho material.
The method just described may be modified without prejudicing the result by
substituting for the aqueous solution of shellac and borax a solution consisting of
four parts of bleached shellac, and sixteen parts of an aqueous solution of ammonia
of a specific gravity of 995.

page_text: When the ammoniacal solution is made use of, the acid may be entirely dispensed
with if preferred.
When the bone dust alone is used, it is subjected to the action of the heated dies
in any convenient manner.
Designs or ornamentation may be very conveniently and permanently applied to
any article by printing, preferably by means of rubber or elastic type, upon the
die or mold with any kind of ink, sprinkling a suitable powdered fusible substance
to cover the inked parts of the die, and then proceeding in the fabrication of the
article to the production of which the die or mold is adapted.
I am aware that compounds of bone dust and gums have been produced, in which
the adhesive qualities of the gums have been made available in connection with
heat and pressure, but those processes differ from these from the fact that they are
based upon the discovery that the bono dust itself may be effectually welded,
while the functions of the gum as a water-repellant are those which are chiefly
utilized, its adhesive properties being of secondary consequence. Thus this
material is essentially unlike the compounds heretofore made in that it is composed
almost entirely of bone, the solidification of which has been but slightly assisted by
the gum or water-repellant.
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood
that what I claim is,―
1. A material consisting of bone dust welded by hent and pressure, substantially
as described.
2. A material consisting wholly or in part of bone dust and a water-repellant
welded by heat and pressure, substantially as described.
3. The process herein before described in which bone or animal material is
reduced to a powder, and welded by heat and pressure, substantially as set forth.
4. A process of producing the material herein before described in which bone dust
and a suitable water-repellant are combined, and the result welded by heat and
pressure, substantially as specified.
5. A process in which bone-dust and a water-repellant are welded by heat and
pressure, the welding being facilitated by means of an acid, substantially as
described.
6. The process of producing the material hereinbefore described, which consists
in combining in the proportions herein before set forth bone-dust, a solution of gum,
and a crystallizable acid, evaporating the solvents which carry the gum and acid,
and subjecting the result to heat and pressure, substantially as set forth.
7. The process hereinbefore described which consists in combining bone-dust
and an ammoniacal solution of gum, evaporating the solvents which carry the gum,
and subjecting the result to heat and pressure, substantially as described.
8. The process of applying designs or ornamentation to moulded articles, which
consists in printing by means of rubber or elastic type or otherwise upon the dio
or mold, sprinkling a suitable powdered fusible substance to cover the inked or
printed parts, and then proceeding in the fabrication of the article to the production
of which the dice or mold is adapted, substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morgan-Brown, lave hereunto set iny
hand and scal, this Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN. (L.S.)