Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Vulcanized. Plastic Compounds
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Oct., 1889-Accepted, 11th Jan., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Vulcanized.**.
Plastic Compounds.
A communication from WILLIAM KIEL, residing at Butler, in the County of Morris,'
in the State of New Jersey, United States of America, Manufacturer.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E., 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 :-
This invention which relates to the manufacture of vulcanized plastic compounds
has for its object to produce very superior plastic compounds which if vulcanized
30 as to produce a hard substance can be used to great advantage in the place of.
hard rubber, whalebone, ivory, wood and other similar materials; and which if
vulcanized so as to produce a soft substance can be used to take the place of soft.
rubber and its compounds, and which possess in each case very superior qualities.
To obtain the before mentioned results wood is used as an ingredient in the
compound. My correspondent is well aware that attempts have been made to mix
fibrous materials with rubber compounds, but in such attempts the fibrous materials
have been used solely as adulterants of rubber and the resulting product is an
inferior grade of rubber and so far as he is aware wood has not heretofore been
used as a constituent part of a vulcanized rubber compound such as it is in the
carrying out of this invention.
The ingredients of the compound made according to this invention are wood,.
sulphur, oil or pitch or other commingling vulcanizable substance and crude rubber
and perhaps bees-wax and the proportions of these ingredients may be varied though
equal weights of each of the ingredients, except the beeswax, which is employed in
smaller quantities, are preferred.
There are many different processes by which the before described vulcanized
compound may be prepared in accordance with the present invention as will appear
from the following examples.
The wood to be used in any of the processes is sawn or otherwise reduced to
small particles and afterwards has all moisture removed from it by any suitable
means and if necessary also has any acids that may be in it washed out.
According to one method of producing the compound the dry particles of wood..
are mixed with sulphur and oil or pitch or other commingling vulcanizable substance
and beeswax may be added so as to toughen the subsequently resulting product. The
mixture thus compounded is then subjected to vulcanization. To the mass thus
obtained crude rubber is added by passing the said mass together with the rubber
through heated rollers such as are ordinarily used in the manufacture of rubber.
Another method of preparing the before mentioned compound is by boiling or
soaking the dried wood particles in oil then combining the product thus obtained with
sulphur and crude rubber which has previously been washed and dried and to which
is preferably added a small quantity of beeswax. The mass thus prepared is then
passed through heated rollers and is then ready for vulcanization.
According to a third manner of preparing the before mentioned compound the
wood particles are mixed with sulphur and these together are vulcanized and this
product is combined with sulphur and crude rubber and oil or other commingling
vulcanizable substance by passing the whole of said ingredients through heated rollers.
The compound thus prepared is then ready for vulcanization. The best results have
been obtained by vulcanizing the wood and sulphur as described above, with a
pressure of 60 lbs. for a period of from 10 to 12 hours but this may be varied according
to requirements. The quantity of sulphur to be used in this manner of preparing the

page_text: compound varies at about the rate of half a pound of sulphur to each pound of rubber
used and the quantity of oil varies with the quantity of sulphur at about the rate of
from two to four ounces of oil for each pound of sulphur used.
A fourth method by which the before described compound may be produced,
consists in dissolving in benzine or other suitable solvent a suitable quantity of crude
rubber preferably previously washed and dried and to this adding a quantity of the
dried wood particles not exceeding ten times the original weight of the crude rubber
now dissolved. The solvent is then evaporated so as to obtain a mass which is then
passed through heated rollers along with crude rubber, sulphur, oil and beeswax and
is then ready for being vulcanized. If however the weight of the wood particles-
mixed with the dissolved crude rubber-did not exceed the weight of the crude
rubber then it would not be necessary to add to the mass so prepared a further
quantity of crude rubber.
According to a fifth method of producing the before described compound the dried
wood particles are vulcanized together with sulphur and oil or other commingling
vulcanizable substance. This mass is passed through heated rollers together with
previously washed and dried crude rubber and if necessary an additional quantity of
sulphur and some beeswax so as to thoroughly incorporate the wood together, the
product thus prepared being then ready for the vulcanizing process.
If the resulting product is to be a hard vulcanized compound excellent results may
be obtained by subjecting the last described mass to vulcanization at a pressure of
from 55 to 60 lbs. for a period of 10 hours; if it is to be a soft compound then sub-
jecting the mass to vulcanization at a pressure of 60 lbs. for a period of five hours will
suffice.
According to a sixth method of producing the before described compound the dried
wood particles are mixed with oil, sulphur and crude rubber in any desired proportions
and the mixture thus produced is vulcanized until an uneven, brittle, hard mass is
obtained. This mass is reduced to a powder by grinding or equivalent means and the
powder thus obtained is mixed with sulphur, oil and crude rubber by passing through
heated rollers. A small quantity of beeswax may also be added to toughen the
resulting product. This compound is then ready for the vulcanizing process.
The compound prepared by the before described or other equivalent processes prior
to being subjected to the finishing vulcanizing stage, may be put into moulds or
otherwise treated to give to the resulting product any desired form.
In the process of vulcanization the pressure, the time and the heat will be varied
according to the nature of the flexibility and hardness of the material to be pro-
duced. For example if to this new compound be applied in the vulcanizing stage
time and pressure such as is applied in the process of vulcanization of hard rubber
then a hard material will be produced, and in like manner if the time and pressure
applied in the process of vulcanizing in the manufacture of soft rubber be applied
to the vulcanizing of this compound then a soft material will be produced; but the
inventor does not confine himself to the limits within which these respective pro-
cesses of vulcanization vary.
In this specification the new compound has been described as made of wood,
sulphur, oil or pitch and crude rubber united by vulcanization, but it is to be
understood that any equivalent of oil or pitch may be used, such for example as
tallow, or beeswax or generally any commingling vulcanizable substance; the principal
feature of novelty and value of this invention being the use of wood as a con-
stituent part of a vulcanizable compound, giving thereto new and valuable properties.
The oil acts as a commingling vulcanizable agent, and at the same time tends to
toughen the finished vulcanized product.
This new compound when vulcanized in a hard form is in its texture and general
qualities similar to horn and whalebone. As wood is free from the grit which is
always found in crude rubber gum, the new compound in its hard form has much
less grit in it than hard rubber or any of its compounds hitherto known.
Furthermore, it is much more bulky for equal weights and is also much cheaper
than hard rubber.

page_text: In its soft form the new compound when vulcanized is lighter in weight than soft-
rubber and its compounds as now made; it is for equal weights more bulky and it is.
at the same time cheaper than soft rubber.
Besides the process for preparing the before described compound being capable of
variation in so far as regards the ingredients and the proportions of the said
ingredients the said process may also be varied in the order and manner of mixing.
the, ingredients and pressure applied and time during which the compound is sub-
jected to the vulcanizing processes.
Throughout any of the processes by which the before described compound may be.
prepared the crude rubber used is preferably such as has been previously washed and
dried.
The addition of the small quantity of beeswax to the new compound before-
vulcanization is advantageous in so far as it toughens. the finished product.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention:
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is ;-
1. The employment of wood as a coustituent part of a vulcanizable rubber compound
substantially as herein described.
2. A vulcanized plastic compound consisting of wood, sulphur a commingling
vulcanizable substance and crude rubber united by vulcanization substantially as
described.
3. A vulcanized plastic compound consisting of wood, sulphur, oil and crude rubber
united by vulcanization substantially as described.
4. The herein described process of manufacturing vulcanized plastic compounds of
which wood is a constituent part by boiling or soaking wood in oil and subsequently
combining by vulcanization the product thus obtained with sulphur and crude rubber
substantially as described.
5. The herein described process of manufacturing vulcanized plastic compounds of
which wood is a constituent part by boiling or soaking wood in oil and subsequently
combining by vulcanization the product thus obtained with sulphur, beeswax, and
crude rubber, substantially as described.
6. The herein described process of manufacturing vulcanized plastic compounds of
which wood is a constituent part by vulcanizing together wood and sulphur and
subsequently combining by vulcanization the product thus obtained with a com-
mingling vulcanizable substance sulphur and crude rubber substantially as described.
7. The herein described process of manufacturing vulcanized plastic compounds of
which wood is a constituent part, by vulcanizing together wood and sulphur, and
subsequently combining by vulcanization the product thus obtained with oil, sulphur
and crude rubber substantially as described.
8. The herein described process of manufacturing vulcanized plastic compounds of
which wood is a constituent part by mixing wood with crude rubber dissolved by any
solvent and subsequently combining by vulcanization the product thus obtained with
sulphur, oil and beeswax substantially as described.
9. The herein described process of manufacturing vulcanized plastic compounds of
which wood is a constituent part by mixing wood with crude rubber dissolved by any
solvent and subsequently combining by vulcanization the product thus obtained with
sulphur, oil, beeswax and crude rubber substantially as described.
10. The herein described process of manufacturing vulcanized plastic compounds, of
which wood is a constituent part by vulcanizing together wood, sulphur and a com-
mingling, vulcanizable substance and subsequently combining by vulcanization the
product thus obtained with crude rubber substantially as described.
11. The berein described process of manufacturing vulcanized plastic compounds of
which wood is a constituent part by vulcanizing together wood, sulphur and oil, and
subsequently combining by vulcanization the product thus obtained, with crude
rubber, substantially as described.

page_text: 12. The herein described process of manufacturing vulcanized plastic compounds,
of which wood is a constituent part by vulcanizing to a hard state, wood, sulphur, oil,
and crude rubber and subsequently combining the product thus obtained reduced to a
powder or dust with sulphur, oil and crude rubber substantially as described.
13: The herein described process of manufacturing vulcanized plastic compounds,
of which wood is a constituent part; consisting in vulcanizing to a hard state wood,
sulphur, oil and crude rubber, and subsequently combining the product thus obtained,.
reduced to a powder or dust, with sulphur, oil, beeswax and crude rubber substantially
as described.
011
1000
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.