An Improved Envelope or Covering for Use in Preserving Soluble Bodies.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 8 h Apr., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 7th Jan., 1896-Accepted, 22nd Feb., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Envelope or Covering for Use in Preserving Soluble
Bodies.
The
I Alfred LE CHATELIER of 20 Rue Saint Georges Paris in the Republic of
France Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
For preserving blocks of salt or other soluble bodies (hereinafter referred to as
salt) intended for export from dampness, coatings such as of paraffin or silicate of
potash or envelopes of paper treated with paraffin have been used.
coatings however have not proved satisfactory in use as they can only be
removed by an energetic scraping which takes away a considerable part of the salt
or else they remain in some measure incorporated with the salt and alter its quality
while the paper envelope which is non-adhesive if it happens to be broken allows
water to enter moistening the surfaces of the block of salt.
My invention has for its object to provide an impermeable envelope or covering
which is both adhesive to the body which it protects and possesses sufficient
tenacity to enable it when raised at any point to be then torn or stripped off in one
piece without any scraping thus securing the complete removal of the impermeable
covering.
An envelope or covering according to this invention is formed by the super-
position and amalgamation of several parts of which the first and innermost
insures its tenacity and its adhesion to the block of salt and the second its im-
permeability. A third external part may be added for protecting the impermeable
part from blows or friction which might cut and injure it.
The tenacity of the envelope or covering is obtained by employing fibrous
materials such as cloth paper or the like whose resistance may be increased by
previous gelatinizing or silification.
Adhesion is obtained by applying these fabrics or the like to the block of salt
after-they have been previously moistened with salt water or pure water and then
allowing the whole to dry. The adhesion results in part from contraction caused
by the drying of the fabric but more especially from the crystallization of the salt
which is produced in the fibres of the fabric and so unites it to the enclosed block
of salt.
The impermeability of the covering may be obtained by various processes. For
example by a coating of paraffin, dry pitch, wax, resin, fatty matters and their
various compounds or mixtures, or a coat of paint and varnish; or merely by
layers or sheets of gelatine treated with alum or tanning; or a covering of various
cements, such as gypsum treated with alum (Keenes cement) oxychloride of
magnesium or silicate of potash. When the impermeability of the envelope is
obtained by using gelatine or silicate alone the material constituting the covering
may be soaked with either of them before being used. The following are examples
of two envelopes which I preferably employ, the one being of light construction
and cheap, the other having greater powers of resistance but more costly.

page_text: coating of paraffin or melted pitch, or a solution of gelatine or silicate of potash,
which in turn is covered again before solidifying with a sheet of a resisting paper.
EXAMPLE 2.
The first part or covering of the envelope is formed of a resisting fabric which
has been silicated or steeped in a solution of gelatine and then treated with alum.
A coat of tar or pitch or any other impermeable coating is then applied over this
and outside I provide a covering of coarse sacking or the like.
Dated this 8th day of April 1895.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Envelope or Covering for Use in Preserving Soluble
Bodies.
I, ALFRED LE CHATELIER of 20 Rue Saint Georges Paris in the Republic of
France Engineer 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 :-
For preserving from dampness blocks of salt or other soluble bodies (hereinafter
referred to for brevity as salt) intended for export coatings of a material such as
paraffin, or silicate of potash, or envelopes of paper treated with paraffin, have been
used. The coatings however have not proved satisfactory in use as they can only
be removed by such scraping as takes away a considerable part of the salt, or else
they remain in some measure incorporated with the salt and alter its quality, while
the paper envelope, which is non-adhesive if it happens to be broken allows moisture
to enter and injure the salt.
My invention has for its object to provide an impermeable envelope, or covering,
which is both adhesive to the body which it protects and possesses sufficient tenacity
to enable it when raised at any point to be then torn or stripped off in one piece
without any scraping thus securing the complete removal of the impermeable
covering.
An envelope, or covering, according to this invention is formed by the super-
position, and amalgamation, of several parts of which the first and innerinost insures
its tenacity and its adhesion to the block of salt and the second its impermeability.
A third external part may be added for protecting the impermeable part from
blows, or friction, which might cut and injure it.
The tenacity of the envelope, or covering is obtained by employing fibrous
materials such as cloth, paper, or the like, whose resistance may be increased by
previous gelatinizing, or silicification.
Adhesion is obtained by applying these fabrics or the like to the block of salt
after they have been previously moistened with salt water or pure water and then
allowing the whole to dry. The adhesion results in part from contraction caused
by the drying of the fabric but more especially from the crystallization of the salt
which is produced in the fibres of the fabric and so unites it to the enclosed block
of salt.
The impermeability of the covering may be obtained by various processes.
For example by a coating of paraffin, dry pitch, wax, resin, fatty matters and their
various compounds, or mixtures, or a coat of paint or varnish; or merely by
layers, or sheets, of gelatine treated with alum, or tanning; or a covering of various
cements, such as gypsum treated with alum (Keene's cement) oxy-chloride of
magnesium, or silicate of potash. When the impermeability of the envelope or

page_text: covering is obtained by using gelatine, or silicate, alone the material constituting
the envelope or covering may be soaked with either of them before being used.
The following are examples of two envelopes which I preferably employ; the
one being cheap and of light construction and the other having greater powers of
resistance but being more costly.
EXAMPLE 1.
The first part, or covering, of the envelope is formed of a fabric of light and
resisting material, such for example, as tulle, to which is applied, after dessication,
a coating of paraffin, or melted pitch, or a solution of gelatine, or silicate of potash,.
which in turn is covered before solidifying with a sheet of a resisting paper.
EXAMPLE 2.
The first part, or covering, of the envelope is formed of a resisting fabric which
has been silicated, or steeped in a solution of gelatine, and then treated with alum..
A coat of tar, or pitch, or any other impermeable material is then applied over this
and outside 1 provide a covering of coarse sacking or the like.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven--
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. An impermeable adhesive and resisting covering or envelope consisting in the
combination of the materials having the different qualities herein before defined the
impermeable coating being placed over, or in the pores, or texture, of a resisting
fabric so that the envelope or covering can be readily removed, from the salt or
other material substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. The envelopes, or coverings, constituted substantially as described in the
foregoing examples.
Dated this 7th day of January 1896.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.