IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND TILES
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
BEART, of Godmanchester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Tenth day of October
(One thousand eight hundred and fifty), in the fourteenth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Robert
Beart, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Robert Beart, my exors, admors, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Beart, my exors, admors, or
assigns, should at any tiune agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, usė, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF BRICKS AND TILES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said Robert Beart, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and

page_text: immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as
in and by the same, reference being thereunto, had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Robert Beart, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had
to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention consists,-
First, of improvements in the apparatus employed when manufacturing
perforated bricks. And,
Secondly, my Invention consists of improvements in the drying bricks and
tiles.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me, by
reference to the Drawings hereunto annexed.
The nature of each of the Figures shown by the Drawings being written
thereon, it will not be necessary to repeat the same here.
In making perforated bricks by forcing brick earth through moulding <lies
or openings, I have found that the solidity and equality of the middle portions
of such bricks are liable to be prevented when the stems of the several plugs
or cores are of the same length and carried by bars.at equal distances from
the face of the moulding die or orifice; and to obviate this objectionable result,
I have found, that by varying the length of the stems of the different rows of
plugs or cores, and placing the bars which carry them at different distances
from the face of the moulding die or orifice, the solidity of the central .or
middle portion of each brick is rendered more uniform with the outer portions,
so that they in drying and burning retain their forms better. a, a, is the mouth
piece or moulding orifice of any machine for expressing brick earth for the
making of perforated bricks. b, b, are the fixed plugs or cores which produce
the perforations through the bricks. I prefer to employ three rows thereof
longitudinally of a brick, as shown; but this may be varied; and I make the
stems of the central row longer than the two side rows. The bars c, c, which
carry them, are thus not as heretofore in, the same plane, but in different
planes, the brick earth has .consequently more space to pass through than
when the three bars c form, as it were, a flat grating, when all are in the
same plane, which was the mode formerly resorted to by me. in making
perforated bricks according to a former Invention, for which Letters Patent

page_text: were granted to me. It will be evident that the brick-earth; in being forced
through the moulding orifice or die, will first come against the middle bar c,
and be divided by it, but the same will close again before it comes to the other
two bars c, c, and the centre portions of the clay will have again become
closed up and pressed together before the clay comes to the 'other bars c, c,
which carry the outer rows of cores or plugs, and these will divide the clay,
and. in the act of dividing it will cause it to be forced in towards the centre or
middle portion of the moulding orifice, and thus will the middle portions of
the clay be pressed together more intimately than if the stems of the plugs or
cores were of a uniform length, and the bars which carry them in the same
plane.. And I would state that although I prefer the middle row of stems,
when three..rows. are used, to be the longest; I do not confine myself thereto,
this part of my Invention consisting of. using different lengths of stems to the
rows of plugs or cores, so as to ensure a more intimate pressing of the parts
of the brick earth towards the middle of the brick than when 'all are of the
same length, and. when the bars which carry them are caused 'as it were to
offer a grating to the passage of the clay, each bar dividing it simultaneously
with the stems, as was the case in my former apparatus for making brick's
with a series of perforations through them..
'
I will now. describe the second part of my Invention, which has for its
object à mode of constructing a stove or oven to dry, and apparatus working
therein, to facilitate the introduction and passage of bricks and tiles through
such stove or oven. The. Drawings show several views which will 'enable ne
readily to describe the construction and working of this stove or oven, and the
apparatus used therewith. The construction of the stove or oven is such, that
the heat from a fire or fires passes into a chamber, from which it descends and
passes out.at intervals into and through a series of reticulated (perforated with
numerous holes) flues or arches; and from which the products páss into drying
chambers, and thence, with the vapours from the 'drying bricks or tiles; to a
chimney.or chimnies. The reticulated arches are first' covered with' burnt clay
or rough gravel, then fine gravel, on which is spread'a quantity of sand or
other fine material, so that the heat rises through the reticulated arches up
through the burnt clay or gravel and sand, and enters the compartments of
the oven or stove within which the bricks or tiles (on open frames) are placed
to dry, the vapours, as before stated, passing off from the drying compart-
ments by flues and cowls into the open atmosphere, they being facilitated.
:when necessary, by allowing heated air from the heated chamber to pass off
by suitable passages or pipes into the drying chambers. The walls dividing
..the flues below the drying chambers, and also those which divide the drying

page_text: chambers one from the other, have numerous openings through them, so as to
equalize the heat in all.
The frames on which the bricks and tiles are placed immediately they
are made, consist of parallel bars of wood, and just over the flooring of
the drying chambers there are, from back to front of the stove or oven,
bearers, at intervals, of cast iron, which are bolted to longitudinal wooden
plates, and the bearers are also at intervals supported on bricks laid on the
arches. And the floors of the drying chambers incline from the back to the
front, to facilitate the movement of the frames, with the bricks or tiles thereon,
from the back of the stove or oven to the front. The bearers have numerous
rollers (the axes or necks of which turn in suitable recesses in the bearers)
with flanches on their ends, such rollers just admitting of a frame to rest
thereon, between the flanches; hence, when a frame carrying a quantity of
bricks or tiles is introduced at the back of the stove or oven, it will be received
on to the rollers, and be readily moved thereon towards the front of the stove
or oven. At the back of the stove there are flaps or doors hinged at their
upper edges, and of a size just suited for the passage of a frame having bricks
or tiles thereon, and the barrows used to bring up the frames of bricks are to
be of a height to come even with the upper surfaces of the rollers at the back
end of the drying chambers, so that the workman may readily push. a frame of
bricks or tiles thereon off the barrow into a drying chamber; and at the front
end of the chambers there are similar doors, and there are to be barrows of a
proper height to receive the frames from the ends of the drying chambers.
The upper parts of the drying chambers are arched over with close arches,
and the whole is roofed over.
From the above description the general principle of the construction of
the stove or oven, and of the apparatus worked in combination there-
with, will be understood, and the details of construction which I prefer
for carrying out my Invention will be traced on examining the Drawings.
The arrangement shewn consists of one fire (A) heating six drying chambers B.
The heat and products of combustion pass from the fire A into the compart-
ment C, which runs from side to side of the building, and the heat is admitted
to pass from the lower part of the compartment C by openings D into the
flues E; under the several drying chambers B. The reticulated arches I
prefer to make of bricks with perforations such as are shown, but this may be
varied; over which bricks I place broken burned clay or gravel, to receive the
bed of sand, as shewn. G, G, are the bearers; II, H, are the flanched rollers;
I, I, are the open frames, which I prefer to be of wood, and care should be
taken in constructing such frames, when for perforated bricks, that the parallel

page_text: bars of which they are composed should not cover up any of the openings, as
it is important that the passage of heat through the perforations in the bricks
should be as unimpeded as possible. J, J, are the doors at the back of the
drying chambers; K, K; are the like doors at the front; and it will be seen
that the introduction of a frame, with fresh made bricks or tiles thereon, will
force the previous frame or frames further into the drying chambers.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would state that I do not confine myself to the details
shown and described so long as the peculiar character of either part of my
Invention be retained. But what I claim is,―
First, the mode herein described of constructing the apparatus used when
manufacturing perforated bricks; and,
Secondly, I claim the mode herein described of constructing stoves or ovens
and apparatus working in combination therewith.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Beart, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand night hundred and fifter and
Enrolled the Tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-one.

page_text: forced through the moulding die shown and such as are used in
forming retuculate arches over the flues E.