Improved Street and other Paving or Flooring made of Moss Litter.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Sept., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 22nd June, 1900-Accepted, 11th Aug., 1900
Improved Street and other Paving or Flooring made of Moss Litter.
I, CECIL JOHN REGINALD LE MESURIER, Gentleman, of Blewbury, near Didcot,
in the County of Berks, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
My invention relates to improvements in the composition and preparation of
blocks for street paving and the like.
-
Paving blocks should possess the following amongst other advantages:
They should be impervious to moisture and unaffected by heat. They should
be of uniform consistence, not liable to crack, crumble, split, or warp. They
should moreover be of very considerable resistance to attrition wear.
In addition to these desiderata it is very advantageous if the blocks are to a
certain extent elastic or resilient, consequently forming a noiseless pavement.
Further, they should afford a good and reliable foothold for draught animals,
and not be liable to become glazed or slippery when subjected to wear.
All these advantages are attained by the improved paving blocks of my
invention.
As the foundation substance for my blocks I take the material known as
moss-litter. I mix this material with tar or pitch or other bituminous sub-
stances such as asphalt or creosote residues; or I may use india rubber, gutta
percha, or other resinous substance either in the natural state, or altered by
chemical or other treatment. Further, I may compound my blocks with suitable
mineral substances, such orinstance as brickdust, sand, or the like.
It will be obvious that a wide range of mineral substances may with advantage
be incorporated to meet special requirements. The incorporation of the various
substances and the homogeneous nature of the block is assured by the applica-
tion of pressure in any convenient manner. The stratification of the moss-
litter is preferably at right angles to the direction of the expected wear.
I may treat the foundation substance as above set forth with one or more of the
aforesaid ingredients separately to bring the same into more suitable condition
for the carrying out of the complete process, and I may then treat the partially
prepared material with further additions, and with or without the aid of pressure
for the purpose of completing the manufacture of the finished block.
I may also prepare the blocks and subject the same after preparation to
further treatment either mechanical or chemical in order to harden or otherwise
improve the outer skin of the said block and adapt it better for the purpose
in view.
The blocks which I contemplate manufacturing are primarily designed for
use exactly in the manner as ordinary wood or other paving blocks, and to be
laid upon a concrete or other prepared surface in the usual manner. They may,
however, obviously be applied to many other uses beside that above stated.
Dated the 25th day of September 1899.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co..

page_text: I, CECIL JOHN REGINALD LE MESURIER, Gentleman, of Blewbury, near Didcot,
in the County of Berks, 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:-
."
My invention relates to improvements in the composition and preparation of
blocks for street paving and the like.
Paving blocks should possess the following amongst other advantages
They should be impervious to moisture and unaffected by heat. They should
be of uniform consistency, not liable to crack, crumble, split, or warp. They
should moreover be of very considerable resistance to attrition wear.
a
In addition to these desiderata it is very advantageous if the blocks are
fo
certain extent elastic or resilient, consequently forming a noiseless pavement.
Further, they should afford a good and reliable foothold for draught animals,
and not be liable to become glazed or slippery when subjected to wear.
All these advantages are attained by the improved paving blocks of my
invention.
As the foundation substance for my blocks I take the material known as
moss-litter, that is, the material that usually overlies the deposits of peat in
peat mosses. I am aware that peat itself has been proposed for this purpose,
but I have discovered that it is not suited to the object in view.
I mix the moss litter with tar or bitumen or pitch or other bituminous sub-
stances such as asphalt or creosote residues; or I may use india-rubber, gutta
percha, or other resinous substance either in the natural state or altered by
chemical or other treatment. Further, I may compound my blocks with suitable
mineral substances, such for instance as brickdust, sand, or the like.
It will be obvious that a wide range of mineral substances may with advantage
be incorporated to meet special requirements. The incorporation of the various
substances and the homogeneous nature of the block is assured by the applica-
tion of pressure in any convenient manner. The stratification of the moss-
litter is preferably at right angles to the direction of the expected wear.
I may treat the foundation substance as above set forth with one or more
of the aforesaid ingredients to bring the same into more suitable condition
for the carrying out of the complete process, and I may then treat the partially
prepared material with further additions, and with or without the aid of pressure
for the purpose of completing the manufacture of the finished block.
I may also prepare the blocks and subject the same after preparation to
further treatment either mechanical or chemical in order to harden or otherwise
improve the outer skin of the said block and adapt it better for the purpose
in view.
This hardening treatment may be effected mechanically, as for instance by
passing the fibrous preparation through rolls under the requisite degree of pressure
Such a method is applicable where in place of paving blocks it is expedient to
produce the material in the form of a sheet or a layer of thickness proportionate
to the amount of wear expected and the elasticity required in the flooring or
paving. In this form the material is applicable to covering floors or pavements
for very various uses. For instance, it may be produced in a very thin layer
and used as a substitute for ordinary cork carpeting and similar floor coverings.
Or it may be used in a thicker layer for entrances where carriages or the like
are required to cause as little noise as possible, and finally in thick blocks or
layers it may be applied for ordinary street or courtyard pavement. In this

page_text: latter case the material may be formed into blocks similar to ordinary wood
paving blocks and may be laid upon a concrete or other suitable surface in the
usual manner.
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. In the manufacture of a flooring or paving material the use of the fibrous
material known as moss-litter.
2. An improved floor covering consisting essentially of moss-litter compounded
under pressure with bituminous, resinous, elastic or other cementing material
with or without the addition of mineral substances such as brickdust, sand or
the like.
3. Improved paving block composed of moss-litter cemented together by
bituminous, resinous, elastic or other cementing material with or without the
addition of mineral substances.
Dotad thin 99.7
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of London, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham.