US1936040A - Method and apparatus for manufacturing cork board and artificial lumber - Google Patents

Description

M. SHIKATA LQBMMO METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING CORK BOARD AND ARTIFICIAL LUMBER Nova 21, 1933.

Filed Oct. 22, 1950 Patented Nov. 21, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LUMBER Masuzo Shikata, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto, Japan Application October 22,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a substitute for cork board and wooden board or lumber, the method being characterized by filling a compressor with a mass of vegetable fibrous material such as peat or tundra, and compressing said mass by specially passing an electric current to a pair of electrodes attached to said compressor. The object of the invention is to manufacture a cork substitute and other artificial lumber from vegetable fibrous material easily and economically by inducing disturbance and destruction of the construction of ions and organic matters on the surface of the raw material and taking advantage of that disturbance to apply pressure thereto.

According to this invention a compressor having a perforated casing is provided with a pair of electrodes movable downwardly within the compressor by means of a press board. The gaps between the two electrodes and between the lower electrode and the bottom of the casing are filled with vegetable fibrous material containing water. Said electrodes passing electric current, are caused to undergo electric osmotic action or the 5 disturbance and destruction of the surface construction of ions and organic matters on the surface of the raw material. Taking advantage of this disturbance and destruction, pressure is exerted on said press board. Thus, a substitute for cork board and other artificial lumber can be manufactured from vegetable fibrous material containing water, such as peat or tundra."

. The accompanying drawing shows diagrammatically a longitudinal front view of an apparatus used for carrying out the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the apparatus as herein illustrated comprises a casing 1 of wood or other insulating material having in its side wall a plurality of perforations 2 to provide for drainage. The casing is supported on a base block 12 in opposite sides of which are secured a pair of supporting rods or standards 13 and which pass through perforated ears carried by the casing 1 and extend upward to a point substantially above said casing. A hydraulic press having a cylinder 3*and a base member 14 perforated to receive the upper ends of said rods 13 is supported on spacing sleeves l3 encircling the rods, said base member being securely retained in position by nuts 13 threaded on the ends of the rods. The hydraulic press 3 is provided with a piston rod 16 carrying at its upper end a piston 4 reciprocable in the cylinder 3 of the press and at its lower end a press board 5 of wood or other in- 55 sulating material. A pair of perforated electrodes 1930. Serial No. 490,387

6 and '7, formed of lead, nickel, iron or carbon, are disposed for movement within the casing 1 and each provided with an extension 8 on which is mounted an electric terminal 9. The electrode '7 extends through an elongated opening 15 in the side wall of the casing 1. It will be understood that the block 12, the rods 13, press cylinder 3 and its base member 14, as well as the piston rod 16, are all made of iron or other conducting material.

Between the two electrodes 6 and '7 is disposed a mass watersoaked tundra 10 and between the electrode 7 and the bottom of the casing 1 is disposed a similar mass of water-soaked tundra 11.

If current is then passed to the electrodes 6 and 7, a circuit including the mass of tundra 10 and the electrode '7 is established, and at the same time owing to the imperfectness of insulation a circuit including the mass tundra 11, push board 5, piston rod 16, supporting piece 14, standard 13, block 12 and perforated casing 1, and the electrode 7 is also established.

Thus, when current is passed to said electrodes and the push board 5 is pressed the tundra 10 and 11 will be gradually dehydrated and at the same time pressed into a board, as the push board 5, electrode 6, tundra 10 and electrode 7 gradually come down. Thus, by continuing the above operation for a suitable period of time, it is possible to manufacture substitutes for cork and wooden board easily from tundra containing water.

It has been demonstrated in practice that by the use of an alternating current of 100 volts and about 9.3 ampere (effective value) per 1 square decimeter and maintaining the pressure at about 50 lbs. per square inch for a period of about 4. hours, a fiat board was obtained containing about 40% of water from tundra or other peats which contained nearly of water before the treatment. The fiat board thus treated may have its water content decreased to about 10% easily by natural or fire-drying. The product thus obtained possesses big insulating capacity, elasticity and sound-proofing properties. It is, therefore, very suitable as a cork board substitute. Further, it is well suited for wall board, ceiling board and floor board, as substitutes for veneer board and general wooden boards. In this case, if alternating current or superposed current is used, it will disturb and destroy the construction of the surface such as ions and organic matters on the surface of the tundra and consequently the tundra will be consolidated easily by the combined action of the electric current and the press. If desired, direct current may be used insurface is disturbed and destroyed. after passingalternating electric current through stead of A. (3., for the formation of the board under the combined effect of the electro-osmosis as well as electric disturbance and destruction, although such effect will be in a lower degree than when alternating current is used.

The ions contained in vegetable fibrous material containing water, such as peat or tundra, are hydrogen ion, natrium ion, calcium ion, potassium ions, etc., and the organic matters to be suspended in their solution or colloidal states are lignine, the decomposition products forming the vegetable constituent of the original plants of peat. Although these organic materials and inorganic ions are arranged in a certain way on the surface of the solid and liquid phases in the ordinary state, they are disturbed and destroyed electrically when they enter the electric field.

To state the matter briefly, when water is passed through a layer of tundra under a certain pressure, the velocity of its passage is accelerated or retarded under direct electric current pressure according to the direction of the pole by socalled electrical osmosis phenomenon, while under alternating current the velocity of fall of water is always retarded, this retarding effect being recognizable for nearly 15 minutes after the current is cut off. This may be taken as showing that the construction of the surface is restored to its normal condition in fifteen minutes after it is disturbed and the electric current is cut 01?. Next, upon comparing the water obtained by applying pressure to tundra to which water has'been added, with'the water obtained by applying pressure andalternating current to tundra which contains the same quantity of water, the quantity of inorganic matter contained in the water in the latter case is far greater than in the former. This clearly indicates that the construction of the Further,

tundra, if we take a certain quantity of the tundra and draw its dehydration curve under a certain reduced pressure and at a certain temperature, it contains a considerably smaller quantity of water than the tundra which has not been treated or has received pressure and heat. This is because the dehydration has increased owing to the disturbance and destruction of the surface, that is-to say, a proof of the disturbance of the surface.

Moreover, if a high electric resistance board is inserted into the interior of tundra and other peat layers, it will not only increase the efliciency of the electric power, but will also improve thequality of the product, because the presence of the high resistance board decreases the amount of current consumed in the discharge of inorganic and organic ions and thus not only equalizes the electric field to be received by the peat layers, but also prevents the ununiform distribution of the ions due to their migration.

I claim: I

1. The method of manufacturing cock-board substitute and artificial lumber, which consists in filling a compressor with water-soaked peat having a high electrical resistance board inserted therein, and then dehydrating and consolidating said peat into the form of a board by passing. an electric current and at the same time applying pressure thereto.

2. An apparatus for manufacturing boards from a mass of water-soaked peat, comprising a perforated casing of insulating material'adapted to be filled with said peat mass, a pair of electrodes movably disposed in superposed relation in said casing, one of said electrodes dividing the peat mass into two portions, a press board movable in the casing, means for exerting pressure on said board, the upper electrode being connected with the press board, and means for passing an electric current to said electrodes whereby the water-soaked peatis' subjected to electrical and pressing actions simultaneously.

MASUZO s 'm.

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