IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING BRICKS, TILES, PIPES, AND MOULDINGS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Cowley, of the City of Oxford, Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
MANUFACTURING BRICKS, TILES, PIPES, AND MOULDINGS."
Sealed the 29th August 1863, and dated the 9th March 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Cowley at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th
March 1863.
I, JAMES COWLEY, of the City of Oxford, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of tho said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR MANUFACTURING BRICKS, TILES, PIPES, AND MOULDINGS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and com-
bination of machinery or apparatus for manufacturing moulded bricks, brick
mouldings, perforated bricks, tiles, and drain pipes, whereby less power is
required to actuate the machine, and a smaller proportion of water employed
than in the ordinary methods of brick making.
According to this Invention a hopper and pug mill, with a receiving box
and piston, are employed in combination with a mould box, which is also
provided with a piston of its own. The clay, which may be taken direct from
the bank, is placed in the hopper and prepared and well worked by the knives
of the pug mill, which also force it downwards into the receiving box, from
whence it is forced by a piston or plunger into the mould. If a perforated or
partially perforated or recessed brick is required, this mould box is provided

page_text: with cores of greater or less length to produce the perforations or indentations
intended to be produced. From this mould the brick thus moulded and
pressed is expelled by a piston working therein, and is received on to an
endless travelling web, which carries it clear of the machine. In making tiles
and pipes the brick mould is removed and replaced by the required mould or
die to suit the article to be manufactured. The perforated bricks made by
this machine are better and stronger than those made in the usual manner,
namely, by being forced through die plates, as the clay between the perfora-
tions is not divided in the process of making, and hence the bricks are not
liable to crack when being burnt.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Cowley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th September 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
COWLEY, of the 'City of Oxford, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Cowley, Her special license that I, the said James
Cowley, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others that I,
the said James Cowley, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING BRICKS, TILES, PIPES,
AND MOULDINGS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James
Cowley, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
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 James Cowley, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and
combination of machinery or apparatus for manufacturing moulded bricks,
brick mouldings, perforated bricks, tiles, and drain pipes, whereby less power
is required to actuate the machine, and a smaller proportion of water employed
than in the ordinary methods of brick making.
According to this Invention a hopper and pug mill, with a receiving box
and piston, are employed in combination with a mould box, which is also
provided with a piston of its own. The clay, which may be taken direct from
the bank, is placed in the hopper and prepared and well worked by the knives
of the pug mill, which also force it downwards into the receiving box, from
whence it is forced by a piston or plunger into the mould. If a perforated or
partially perforated or recessed brick is required this mould box is provided
with cores of greater or less length to produce the perforations or indentations
intended to be produced. From this mould the brick thus moulded and
pressed is expelled by a piston working therein, and is received on to an endless
travelling web, which carries it clear of the machine. In making tiles and
pipes the brick mould is removed and replaced by the required mould or die
to suit the article to be manufactured. The perforated bricks made by this
machine are better and stronger than those made in the usual manner, namely,
by being forced through die plates, as the clay between the perforations is not
divided in the process of making, and hence the bricks are not liable to crack
when being burnt.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings represents a side elevation of my
improved machine complete; Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the
same, taken through the centre thereof, and looking in the opposite direction
to that in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan of the machine corresponding to
Figure 2, and having certain parts shown in section to illustrate more clearly
the moulding and perforating apparatus; Figure 4 is a detail of the moulding
and perforating apparatus; and Figure 5 is an example of the different kinds
of bricks which can be made by this machine.
A is the main framing of the machine, and B the driving shaft which

page_text: projects beyond the framing on one side thereof, and has keyed upon it the
driving pulley C and pinion D, which gears into the large spur wheel E fast
upon the second motion shaft F. This shaft also carries the tappet or cam G,
which acts alternately upon the two segments H, H, connected to the hori-
zontal sliding piston or plunger I. To this piston or plunger are fitted or
secured a number of prongs or pins K, which are pushed forward into and
withdrawn from the mould when partially perforated bricks are to be made
through the perforated side M of the mould N. Top and bottom plates 0, 0,
are also attached to the piston or plunger I, which serve to cut off the clay iu
the mould at the upper and under side of the brick, as herein-after more fully
explained. P is the receiving box, into which the clay is fed from the pug
mill Q, which contains two inclined pugging shafts and sets of knives R, R;
S is a hopper fitted on to the top of the machine, and containing sand or
ashes, which are fed into the receiving box P by means of the vibrating tray
or shute T, this tray being shaken or vibrated so as to shake down the
contents of the hopper by means of the tooth U, acted upon by the teeth of
the large spur wheel E. In one end of each of the pugging shafts is keyed a
spur pinion V, the two gearing together, and upon one of these shafts is also
keyed a bevel wheel W in gear with a corresponding bevel wheel W¹ on the
cross shaft X working on bearings Y, Y. On the end of this shaft is keyed a
chain pulley Z, driven by an endless chain a, which passes round a corre-
sponding chain pulley 6 fast on the driving shaft B. Motion is thus transmitted
direct to the pugging shafts from the main driving shaft of the machine. c is
a piston or plunger working horizontally to and fro in the receiving box P, its
object being to force the tempered and mixed clay supplied by the pug mill
into the mould N through the lateral mouth or aperture therein at d. Motion
is imparted to the plunger c by means of the two cranks e, e, connected with
the second motion shaft F. These cranks are jointed to the connecting
rods ff, which are coupled at their opposito ends to the shaft g, passing
through the plunger c. This shaft slides along slots h made in the sides of the
receiving box P, but in order to prevent the clay from being forced out
through such openings a slide is fitted to work in the slots, so as to keep them
constantly closed and still admit of the traverse of the shaft 9. i, i, are two
bent levers working on fixed centres k, k, and actuated by the shaft 9. which
passes along the inclined part of the levers and elevates them when moving in
one direction, and when moving in the opposite direction depresses or lowers
them by coming in contact with the stop or hook at the elbow or bend of
the levers; the free ends of these bent or bell-crank levers are coupled at
m, m, to short link pieces n, n, on the outer ends of the vertically sliding

page_text: transverse spindle o, o. This spindle is connected to a piston or plunger p,
which works vertically inside the mould box N, slots q in the main framing
serving to guide the spindle in its up-and-down movements.
The upward
motion or rising of the piston p takes place simultaneously with the forward
motion or traverse of the main plunger c, and consequently a portion of the
clay is forced from the receiving box P by the plunger c, through the aperture
d into the mould box N as the piston p rises. Whilst the clay is being thus
forced into the mould box the piston I is in the forward position shewn in
Figure 4, that is to say, its top and bottom plates o, o, are within the mould
box, and form two of the six sides or walls thereof. The prongs K are also
within the mould box, so that the clay is forced round them as it enters the
mould. The plunger c now recedes from the mould, being drawn back by the
action of the cranks e and connecting rods f, and whilst this backward motion
takes place the piston I, with the top and bottom plates O and prongs K, is
simultaneously withdrawn from the mould by the action of the tappet E on
one of the segments H, the withdrawal of the prongs K leaving a corre-
sponding number perforations in the moulded brick inside the mould box,
and opening the bottom of the mould ready for the expulsion of the brick,
which is effected by means of the vertical piston or plunger p working within
the box. Attached to this piston or plunger is a plunger r, which on the
descent of the piston p, when forcing out or expelling the moulded brick, also
descend with it and forces down the clay into the bottom of the receiving box
in readiness to be pushed forward into the mould box at the next stroke of
the main plunger c. When the moulded brick is forced out of the mould box
it is received on the endless cloth s, carried by the several rollers t, t, and con-
veyed away from the machine. This endless cloth is actuated from the shaft
F by means of the grooved pulley u, band v, and second grooved pulley w fast
on the axis of one of the carrying rollers of the endless cloth s. The mould
box N is lubricated or melted after each brick is expelled by means of a
receptacle filled with water and forming the back part of the expelling
piston p; a piece of felt or other permeable material is inserted at the
junction of the piston p with the receptacle x in order to wet the sides of the
mould box at each traverse of the piston p.
When making brick mouldings a die 1 (shewn in dotted lines in Figure 3)
is placed in one of the angles of the mould box N, by means of a screw
passing through the back plate, and the pad on the end of the piston c should
be narrower than the front of the mould box, in order to regulate the density
of the brick.
In making tiles or pipes the brick mould is removed and the required

page_text: mould or die fixed in its place, as shown in the vertical and horizontal detail
sections, Figures 6 and 7 respectively. It is further requisite that the wooden
pad on the end of the piston c be brought forward so as to enter the mould
box, thereby forcing out the clay through the dies; after which operation a
frame y (shewn in Figure 6, and in front view detached at Figure 8) is
carried down by means of the levers i, i. Between the lower extremities of
the cutting frame there is a wire z, which passing between the back of the die
or dies and the pipe or other article cuts it off and renders it free to be taken
away, or an ordinary cutting frame may be employed if preferred. In most
cases if required the bricks can be made from clay taken direct from the bank
to the machine without any previous preparation.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion, that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general construction, arrangement, and combination of machinery
or apparatus for manufacturing bricks, tiles, pipes, and mouldings, substantially
as herein-before described.
Second, the combination of a hopper, pug mill, and receiving box with a
mould box, provided with an expelling piston of its own, substantially as
herein-before described.
Third, the peculiar combination of prongs or cores with a mould box and
expelling piston, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Cowley, have to this my Specifi-
cation hereunto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of September,
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.