UNITED STATES
PATENT
OFFICE.
JOHN W. HYATT, JR., OF ALBANY, NEW
YORK, AND ISAIAH S. HYATT,
OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.
IMPROVED METHOD OF MAKING SOLID COLLODION.
Specification of Letters
Patent No. 91,341, dated June 15, 1869
To all whom it may concern:
Be it known that we, JOHN W. HYATT, Jr., of the city of Albany, in the
State of New York, and ISAIAH S. HYATT,
of the city of Rockford, in the
State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful. Method of Making
Solid Collodion, or compounds of pyroxyline; and we do hereby declare
the following specification to be a true and exact description of the
nature of our invention.
Our convention consists of a new and improved method of
manufacturing
solid collodion and its compounds; its essential feature being the
employment of a very small quantity of ether or other appropriate
solvent, and dissolving pyroxyline therewith, under a heavy pressure,
so that a comparatively hard and solid product is obtained, with great
economy of solvents and saving of time.
The following description will enab1e others skilled in
the art to use our process:
We place soluble cotton, pyroxyline, or prepared cellulose
into a
strong cylinder or suitably-shaped mold. With the pyroxyline may be
mixed ivory-dust, bone-dust, asbestos, flake-white, or any other
desirable substance, according to the nature of the product required.
This compound is then pressed into a tolerably compact mass by means of
a plunger in the cylinder, or by a movable part of the mold. The
plunger to said cylinder or part of the mold is then retracted to give
room for the ether or other solvent. The proportion of solvent to the
pyroxyline is as five to ten, seven to ten, or equal parts, by weight,
according to the nature and proportions of the compound. When the
pyroxyline is used alone, from one-half to three-fourths, by weight, of
solvent will be sufficient; but when ivory-dust or other material is
added, a somewhat greater proportion of solvent will be required, which
can readily be determined by trial. After the plunger to the cylinder
or part of the mold has been retracted, as aforesaid, the solvent is
poured or forced in through a hole, which is then closed, and the
plunger or movable part of the mold is immediately forced against the
contents with great power - a pressure of from five to twenty tons per
square inch being required to produce the best suits. The pressure must
be applied quickly, so that the solvent will be forced into contact
with every particle of the pyroxyline before the dissolving process has
time to commence. This, however, may be varied according to the degree
of activity of the solvent employed. The cylinder or mold must be made
or packed to work so closely that none of the solvent can escape the
pressure. Other mechanical means may he employed equivalent to the
foregoing, and we do not confine ourselves to the precise apparatus
described.
The product is then taken out of the cylinder or mold, and
will be
found to be hard and solid, of uniform quality throughout, and liable
to only a very slight degree of shrinkage, because of the very small
proportion of volatile elements which it contains.
After the solid compound thus formed is taken out of the cylinder or
mold, and before it thoroughly seasons, we subject it, in the
manufacture of many articles, to additional pressure in molds, whereby
it is caused to conform perfectly with all the configurations of the
mold.
Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and
desire to secure by Letters Patent is —
1. Dissolving pyroxyline under pressure, substantially
as described.
2. Dissolving pyroxyline under pressure, when combined
with ivory-dust or other material, substantially as described.
JOHN W. HYATT, JR.
ISAIAH S. HYATT.
Witnesses:
HENRY DEITZ,
C. M. HYATT.
