IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES OF CAOUTCHOUC. OR OF COMPOSITIONS OF WHICH CAOUTCHOUC FORMS A COMPONENT PART
Year: 1854

page_text: d tlie 9th January 1855, and dated the 9th November 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Ross at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition on the 9th November
1854.
I, GEORGE ROSS, of Falcon Square, in the City of London, Merchant, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE
TO THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES OF CAOUTCHOUC. OR OF COMPOSITIONS OF WHICH
CAOUTCHOUC FORMS A COMPONENT PART," to be as follows:-
Hitherto the value of vulcanized rubber has ceased when the various arti-
cles to the manufacture of which it has been applied have become worn out,
'or served the purposes for which they were prepared. It is well known, and
it necessarily follows, from the process by which vulcanized rubber is cured,
that it possesses properties which effectually prevent it being worked over or
used a second time, either by the ordinary application of heat, which consumes
and destroys it, or by any other process known prior to the present time.
These improvements consist, first, in a process for working up a second time
vulcanized rubber, and moulding it into any desired shape. By this process

page_text: many foreign articles may be so incorporated with india-rubber or caoutchouc,
either in its native state, or when vulcanized or otherwise prepared, as to
produce a substance which has all the valuable properties of vulcanized rubber,
and yet has but little rubber in its composition, thereby so reducing the cost
of vulcanized rubber as to admit of its being much more extensively used than
hitherto, and applied to many new and useful purposes.
The
principal features of the new process consist in applying heat, either to
india-rubber in its native state, or to rubber combined with the substances
commonly used in vulcanizing rubber, or to rubber which has once been vul-
canized by means of steam, the rubber or compound while thus heated being
under pressure in moulds or dies. By this means the process of curing rubber
is greatly facilitated, and vulcanized rubber, which has hitherto resisted all
attempts to remould it, may be readily pressed into any desired shape. By
thus treating rubber, also, many foreign articles, such as scraps of cloth,
sulphur, white lead, coal or wood tar, or any adhesive substance, may be
so combined with it as to produce a substance which has all the valuable
properties of vulcanized rubber, although the greater bulk of it is composed
of other and cheaper materials. I also regulate the induration of the rubber
or substance thus formed at pleasure, by permitting the escape of the steam,
and admitting cold water around the moulds and dies in its stead, thereby
checking the curing of the rubber at any desired stage of the process.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Ross in the Great Seal Patent Oflice on the
9th May 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
Ross, of Falcon Square, in the City of London, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Ross, Her special licence that I, the said George Ross,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Ross, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,. the Channel

page_text: TO
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE
THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES OF CAOUTCHOUC. OR OF COMPOSITIONS OF WHICH
CAOUTCHOUC FORMS A COMPONENT PART," being a communication from abroad,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Ross, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in whai manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Ross. do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
siaiement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
Hitherto the value of vulcanized rubber has ceased when the various
articles to the construction of which it has been applied have become worn
out, or served the purposes for which they were prepared. This has been
cansed by the vulcanized rubber, when cured, possessing the property of
resisting the action of the solvents .commonly employed for dissolving india-
rubber.
Now, the chief objeci of the present Invention is to work up and mould into
any desired shape scraps and waste pieces of cured or vulcanized rubber. By
this process, also, many foreign articles may be so incorporated with india-
rubber or caoutchouc, either in its native state; or when vulcanized or otherwise
prepared, as to produce a substance which has all the valuable properties of
vulcanized rubber, and yet has but little rubber in its composition, thereby so
reducing the cost of vulcanized rubber as to admit of its being much more
extensively used than hitherto, and applied to many new and useful purposes.
The principal feature of this Invention is the application of heat, either to
india-rabber in its native state, or io rubber with the substances commonly
used in vulcanizing rubber, or in rubber which has once been vulcanized by
means of steam, the rubber or compound while thus heated being pressed into
moulds or dies which come in contact with the rubber or compound to be
acted upon. By this means the process of curing rubber is greatly facilitated.
and vulcanized rubber, which has hitherto resisted all attempts to remould it.
may be readily pressed into any desired shape. By thus treating rubber, also,
many foreign articles, such as scraps of cloth, sulphur, white lead, coal or
wood far, or any adhesive substance, may be so combined with it as to produce
a substance which has all the valuable properties of vulcanized rubber, although

page_text: the greater bulk of it is composed of other and cheaper materials. The
induration of the rubber or substance thus formed is regulated at pleasure
by admitting cold water around the moulds and dies in place of the steam,
and thereby checking the curing of the rubber at any desired stage of the
process.
In order to illustrate the application of the process to the manufacture
of different articles, I shall proceed to describe the method of making boot
and shoe heels, planks, and buckets, and the substances of which they are
composed.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 shews in elevation a
moulding press for making boot heels: Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the
same, taken in the plane of the line A, B. Fig. 1: Fig. 3 is a transverse
vertical section of the same, taken in the plane of the line C. D. Fig. 1; Fig. 4
is a side elevation of a press for making planks; and Fig. 5 is a vertical cross
section of the same.
In Sheei II. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a moulding press for making
buckets and Fig. 7, a central vertical section of the same.
I shall first describe the apparatus for making boot and shoe heels, a, a, a,
in Figures 1, 2, and 3, Sheet I., represent the framework of the apparatus;
b, b, are the moulds in which the heels are shaped and cured, a hollow space
or chamber c. c. being formed all around their bottoms and sides, to facilitate
the transmission of heat to the materials to be moulded. The dies d, d, are
attached to a sliding frame e. e. which is moved up and down by a screw !.
These dies are hollow, and communicate with and form a part of a chamber
9. g. (Fig. 3).
The different substances of which the heels are to be composed, such as old
pieces of vulcanized rubber. scraps of cloth, sulphur, white lead, coal tar, &c.,
are first ground or kneaded together, by being passed through calender rolls,
or by any of the methods commonly practised, and then placed in the moulds
b. b. Steam is then admitted through the pipe into the chamber c, c, c,
where it circulates round the sides and bottoms of the moulds: and imparts
heat thereto. Every part of the rubber or substance which comes in contact
with the moulds will thus be heated by the steam, the heat of which will
gradually fuse, as it were, all the substances in the moulds. By then depressing
the dies d, d. (into the chamber g, g, of which steam has been admitted), the
proper shape will be given to the heel.
After the heels have been exposed to the heat of the steam long enough to
have become sufficiently, hardened, they are pressed out of the moulds by the
followers i, isi, i, which are pushed up by the sliding bar k., actuated by the.

page_text: screw 7. In order to check the curing or induration of the top or inner surface
of the heel, so.that it may adhere to the boot or shoe, the steam is permitted io
escape from the chamber g. g. and out of the dies d before the heels are
removed from the moulds, and cold water is admitted in its stead, which checks
the induration of the top or inner face of the heel. and produces the desired
effect. In the same manner cold water may be admitted into the chamber c, c.
about the moulds b, and the amount to which the heels shall be cured is thus
capable of being regulated at pleasure.
The press for making planks (represented at Figures 4 and 5.) consists of a
mould m. m, surrounded by a chamber n. n, and a hollow movable die or
pressure platform o. o. acinated by screws p. p. The rubber and other sub-
stances to be cured and shaped are placed in the mould m; m, and the die n. n.
is then pressed upon the same. Steam is then introduced into the hollow die
and into the chamber n. n, about the mould m. m, and thus, by the action.
of the steam and pressure, the planks are cured and shaped, as in the first-
described method of making heels. The planks when finished are pressed ont
of the mould by means of a follower q. actuated by screws r. r.
a screw
The moulding press for making buckets. represented at Figures 6 and 7.
Sheet II., consists of a frameworks, s, supporting a mould t. 1, of proper
shape for forming the bucket. This mould is formed of an inner and outer
casing, a chamber . . being formed all around the sides and bottoms of the.
mould. ,, is a hollow die. corresponding in shape to the shape of the mould
t, t, but of smaller diameter, and actuated so as to be moved up and down by
16. The rubber and other substances herein-before mentioned, of
which the buckets are to be composed. are combined together as before in
any desired proportions, and placed, in the mould 1. 1. When the die . . is
depressed, and presses against the substance between it and the mould, steam
is introduced into the chamber w, about the mould, and also into the hollow
die ,, so that every part of the compound in the mould will come in contact
with a surface heated by steam, whereby the different substances will become
completely fused, and form an indurated substance, having all the valuable
properties of vulcanized rubber. The bucket when finished is pressed out of
the mould by a movable follower on the bottom of the same.
The varieties of apparatus above described will sufficiently illustrate the
application of this Invention to the production of different articles manu-
factured of rubber or its compounds; and from the above description it will
also be seen that an essential feature of this process consists in so introducing
steam into the moulds and dies as to cause it to circulate entirely through and
around the same, so that every part of the rubber or compound which bears

page_text: against the moulds or dies will be in contact with a surface heated by steam."
The action of the steam thus circulating through the moulds and dies pro-
duces a heat, which causes the complete fusion of the different soluble
substances of which the article to be manufactured is compounded. and thus
the requisite shape or form is readily imparted by the pressure the dies
to the material under operation. The rubber and its compounds commonly
used. together with the other foreign substances herein-before mentioned,
become so fused and cured by this application of steam and pressure as to
produce a substance which has all the valuable properties of vulcanized rubber:
and furthermore, the great bulk of this substance may be composed of cheap
materials with only a small portion of rubber, thereby producing vulcanized
rubber, or a substance which has all the properties of the same, at a very
small cost. By this process. also, vulcanized rubber can be worked over a
second time, and moulded into any desired form, thereby enabling me to use
worn-out articles made of vulcanized rubber which have heretofore been
destroyed as worthless. The introduction of water after the steam is per-
mitted to escape also forms an important part of the process, as by it the
extent to which the rubber shall be cured or indurated can be regulated at
pleasure. It will be evident that the consistency of the articles manufacinred
by this process can be varied by mixing the rubber and other substances in
varying proportions.
By a review of the foregoing description, it will be seen that the leading
and most important feature of the improvements is the curing again and
reproducing of vulcanized rubber from scraps or fragments which have once
been vulcanized. Heretofore these substances have been wholly, or to a great
extent, valueless, and have been thrown away as rubbish, and the Invention in
fact constitutes a new manufacture.
Another important feature of the Invention is, thai whether the process be
applied to rubber which has once been vulcanized, or to rubber which has noi,
the articles can be cured in a very short time, varying according to their
thickness and the heat of the steam employed, and thus a great economy in
fuel and time, as compared with the ordinary process, will be effected. The
ordinary process of vulcanizing goods is by inserting them in very large ovens,
or in large steam boilers, where they are kept at a graduated temperature
from six to ten hours.
The proportions and compounds which have been found most convenient
are as follows:-
When preparing rubber which has once been vulcanized and then rejected
as valueless, take one pound of vulcanized rubber, one ounce of coal tar, and

page_text: one ounce to two ounces of sulphur. When preparing rubber in its natural
state, the following will be found to be very good proportions: one pound
india-rubber, three quarters of an ounce of sulphur, half an ounce of litharge,
and half a pound of whiting or plaster of Paris. In preparing vulcanized
rubber with foreign substances, the following proportions have been in general
adopted: eight pounds of the above compound, twenty pounds of rags, &c.,
Lwo pounds of sulphur, one pint of coal tar, and two pints of hard coal tar or
asphaltum. It is very evident that any person skilled in the manufacture can
vary these proportions according to the quality of the article desired to be
produced; also, that the machinery for giving the forms to the article and for
conducting and regulating the heat to the fabric is equally capable of varia-
tion. do not, therefore, limit myself to any peculiar compound, or to any
precise arrangement of machinery, for carrying out the object of the above-
described Invention.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention communicated to me as
aforesaid, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish
it to be understood that under the above recited Letters Patent do not claim
the curing of india-rubber in its natural state when compounded with sulphur
and lead by the use of heat or of steam, nor do I claim the compounding of
sulphur, white lead, or coal tar with india-rubber, all these having been the
subjects of previous Patents; but what I do claim is, the improved process of
vulcanizing india-rubber, or rubber once vulcanized, compounded with other
articles as above set forth, which process consists in heating and curing the
materials whilst under pressure, and in indurating the product by the intro-
duction of water into the press, in place of the steam used for heating the.
pressing surfaces.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Ross, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-live.
Witness,
WM. MACKEN,
66, Chancery Lane.
GEO. ROSS. (..s.)