Improvements in or connected with Machinery for Making Paving or Building Slabs or Blocks and other Pressed Articles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Sept., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 20th June, 1895-Accepted, 3rd Aug., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Machinery for Making Paving
or Building Slabs or Blocks and other Pressed Articles.
We, CHARLES MUSKER and ARTHUR MUSKER, both of Dundas Street,
Bootle, in the County of Lancaster, Hydraulic Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference more particularly to the manufacture of pressed
blocks or slabs and other pressed articles of cement and other substances, as stone
chippings, residuum from destructors, or powdered stone-i.e. of cement concrete,
by machinery; and the main object of the invention is to provide improved
machinery by which such blocks, slabs, or articles, are produced, at a rapid rate;
to provide machinery of a simple and relatively inexpensive construction; and to
economize labour in working the machinery. Pressed articles of different kinds,
from materials other than those above specified, viz. granulated or plastic materials
capable of being compressed and formed directly into blocks, slabs, or articles, may
however be produced by the machinery. We will, however, in describing this
invention, for the sake of simplicity, confine the description thereof to the
production of artificial stone slabs or blocks.
A machine provided with improvements under this invention comprises a
hydraulic press having a main pressing ram or rams; mechanically moved and
operated moulds adapted to receive, and hold the material when being pressed;
means for actuating and holding such moulds, and means for discharging the
pressed slabs, blocks or articles when produced from the moulds.
In one arrangement or combination in which the above described parts are
employed, a vertical hydraulic cylinder and ram are set in a suitable base, over
which is a head supported from the base by columns, the under side of the head
forming the face against which the pressure is exerted. In connection with the
press there are provided rails in the form of a railway, serving to support the
mould, and on which it is run to the press and back away from same.
The mould in this example is of duplex reversible construction, consisting of a
frame or box containing
a movable block, constituting a duplex bottom, the top
and bottom being identical, and made preferably of hollow formation and perforated
with holes. The frame of the mould is provided with trunnions whereon it is
mounted and free to revolve, the trunnions being supported on carriages running
on the rails. The movement to, and back from, the press is preferably imparted
by a hydraulic ram placed in a convenient position, the ram being connected to
the carriages or trunnions of the mould, so enabling it-the frame-to be revolved
and reversed. Passing through the trunnions of the mould frame, and through
the movable bottom or block, there is a shaft, actuated by a hand-wheel or its
equivalent, outside, which works two holding blocks or nuts provided inside the
frame, and whereby the movable bottom or block can be adjusted and held in a
fixed position, during the reversing movement of the frame or mould. Means for
locking the mould frame in a horizontal position is provided, and such means may
consist of a movable lever bar adapted to move on to and off a square part of the
trunnion of the frame, and pins on the carriage. This lever bar also serves as a
means for revolving or turning over the frame or mould.

page_text: In the base, or head, of the press, there are provided means, such as hydraulic
rams, for lifting and holding the frame or mould against the face of the press head
before and during the act of pressing.
Below the railway which carries the mould frame, there is provided means for
receiving and carrying away the slabs or blocks as pressed, from the mould. In
this there is used, a second railway for removing the produced blocks after their
discharge from the moulds; a hydraulic ram, which in some cases has a governed
liquid escape; and a tilting table. In connection with this, there are used trollies
on which, and by which, they are carried away, when the table is lowered on to
the second railway.
By means of turntables or switches, more than one mould may be used on
each side, so that one mould could be being filled while another is being pressed.
The operation of the machinery is as follows:-The material to be pressed into
slabs or blocks is fed into the mould when in the position away from the press,
textile or hair mats, or mats of equivalent material, being provided on the upper
and under surface of the material, as in known forms of oil or other like presses for
carrying off the expressed liquid; the mould is then run under the press and is
raised by the hydraulic rams until its upper surface abuts against the face of the
press-head; the main, ram is then brought into action, which raises the movable
bottom or block of the mould frame, and suitable pressure being applied, the
material is pressed into a solid block or slab or article, while the water expressed
from the material is carried off by the textile, hair, or equivalent pads or mats as
in ordinary oil or other presses, and through the perforations in the movable
bottom or upper plate. After the operation of pressing, the movable bottom is
fixed, namely, held in its place, by means of the internal blocks worked by the
central shaft. The mould is then withdrawn from the press by its ram and
unlocked from the side carriages and revolved half a revolution; the block is then
discharged from the mould by releasing the internal holding block, when the
movable bottom block slides down, forcing out by its weight the slab, block, or
article, onto the trolley on the ram below, and, by the ram, and its governed water
escape, is lowered, its table being caught and automatically tilted on reaching a
certain point, whereby the trolley is caused to move on to the railway aud
conveyed away.
Suitable pumps or power are or is provided for working the hydraulic rams.
Dated this 19th day of September 1894.
Improvements in or connected with Machinery for Making Paving
or Building Slabs or Blocks and other Pressed Articles.
We, CHARLES MUSKER and ARTHUR MUSKER, both of Dundas Street,
Bootle, in the County of Lancaster, Hydraulic Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has reference more particularly to the manufacture of pressed
blocks or slabs and other pressed articles of cement and other substances, as stone
chippings, residuum from destructors or powdered stone, i.e. of cement concrete, by
machinery; and the main object of the invention is to provide improved machinery
by which such blocks, slabs, or articles, are produced, at a rapid rate, to provide
machinery of a simple and relatively inexpensive construction; and to economize

page_text: labour in working the machinery. Pressed articles of different kinds, from materials
other than those above specified, viz. granulated or plastic materials capable of
being compressed and formed directly into blocks, slabs, or articles, may however
be produced by the machinery. We will, however, in describing this invention, for
the sake of simplicity, confine the description thereof to the production of artificial
stone slabs or blocks.
A machine provided with improvements under this invention comprises a
hydraulic press having a main pressing ram or rams; mechanically moved and
operated moulds adapted to receive, and hold the material when being pressed;
means for actuating and holding such moulds, and means for discharging the
pressed slabs, blocks, or articles when produced from the moulds.
In one arrangement or combination in which the above described parts are
employed, a vertical hydraulic cylinder and ram are set in a suitable base, over
which is a head supported from the base by columns, the under side of the head
forming the face against which the pressure is exerted. In connection with the
press there are provided rails in the form of a railway, serving to support the
mould, and on which it is run to the press and back away from same.
The mould in this example is of duplex reversible construction, consisting of a
frame or box containing a movable block, constituting a duplex bottom, the top
and bottom being identical, and made preferably of hollow formation and perforated
with holes. The frame of the mould is provided with trunnions whereon it is
mounted and free to revolve, the trunnions being supported on carriages running
on the rails. The movement to, and back from, the press is preferably imparted
by a hydraulic ram placed in a convenient position, the ram being connected to the
carriages or trunnions of the mould, so enabling it-the frame-to be revolved and
reversed. Passing through the trunnions of the mould frame, and through the
movable bottom or block, there is a shaft, actuated by a hand-wheel or its
equivalent, outside, which works two holding blocks or nuts provided inside the
frame, and whereby the movable bottom or block can be adjusted and held in a
fixed position, during the reversing movement of the frame or mould. Means for
locking the mould frame in a horizontal position is provided, and such means may
consist of a movable lever bar adapted to move onto and off a square part of the
trunnion of the frame, and pins on the carriage. This lever bar also serves as a
means for revolving or turning over the frame or mould.
In the base, or head, of the press, there are provided means, such as hydraulic
rams, for lifting and holding the frame or mould against the face of the press bead
before and during the act of pressing.
Below the railway which carries the mould frame, there is provided means for
receiving and carrying away the slabs or blocks as pressed, from the mould. In
this there is used, a second railway for removing the produced blocks after their
discharge from the moulds; a hydraulic ram, which in some cases has a governed
liquid escape; and a tilting table. In connection with this, there are used trollies
on which, and by which they are carried away, when the table is lowered on to the
second railway.
By means of turntables or switches, more than one mould may be used on each
side, so that one mould could be being filled while another is being pressed.
The operation of the machinery is as follows:-The material to be pressed into
slabs or blocks is fed into the mould when in the position away from the press
textile or hair mats, or mats of equivalent material, being provided on the upper
and under surface of the material, as in known forms of oil or other like presses for
carrying off the expressed liquid; the mould is then run under the press and is
raised by the hydraulic rams until its upper surface abuts against the face of the
press-head; the main ram is then brought into action, which raises the movable
bottom or block of the mould frame, and suitable pressure being applied, the
material is pressed into a solid block or slab or article, while the water expressed
From the material is carried off by the textile hair, or equivalent pads or mats, as
in ordinary oil or other presses, and through the perforations in the movable bottom.

page_text: or upper plate. After the operation of pressing, the movable bottom is fixed,
namely, held in its place, by means of the internal blocks worked by the central
shaft. The mould is then withdrawn from the press by its ram and unlocked from
the side carriages and revolved half a revolution; the block is then discharged
from the mould by releasing the internal bolding block, when the movable bottom
block slides down, forcing out by its weight the slab, block, or article, onto the
trolly on the ram below, and, by the ram, and its governed water escape, is lowered,
its table being caught and automatically tilted on reaching a certain point, whereby
the trolly is caused to move onto the railway and is conveyed away.
Suitable pumps or power are or is provided for working the hydraulic rams.
The drawings hereto annexed illustrate the invention the nature of which is
above described.
In these drawings,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of machinery according to the invention; Figure 2 is
a cross section taken at the line A. A Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a plan.
Figure 4 is a section at B B Figure 3, looking towards the left hand, and
illustrating more particularly the means employed for carrying away the slabs, as
made, from the machine.
Referring now to the drawings, the hydraulic press illustrated consists generally
of a head a; a base b; a main ram c and minor rams d working in cylinders in
the base b; a table e supported upon and worked by the rams c d'; and columns f
connecting the head a and base b.
The mould, which is reversible as specified, comprises a frame 9, and a box h,
with duplex bottom h² provided with perforations or apertures as shewn, the
frame g being provided with trunnions g¹, which rest in a carrier or truck with
wheels ¹ on either side of the mould. The duplex bottom or box h is supported
and controlled by the shaft k, which passes through one of the trunnions g', and
is provided with an actuating wheel ', and nuts k², which are adapted to be worked
to and fro on threaded parts of the shaft k, by rotating the shaft by the wheel k',
whereby the bottom is held and gripped in position, or released at will, as and
when desired, as hereafter described. The operation of revolving, that is the
reversal, of the mould frame g, and its control, is effected by the lever 1, which fits
and slides laterally on the rectangular shaped end or extension of one trunnion g',
and is moved onto the fixed pins l' on the carriage i when the mould is to be
locked and held horizontally as when being filled, and moved off the said pins
when it is to be unlocked and revolved.
m are the rails on which the mould carriages i run, the ends of the rails being
supported in any suitable way. And n is a forked bracket, the ends of which grasp
the trunnions g, through which, by means of a horizontally arranged ram-the end
of which is designated n-to and fro motion is imparted to the mould; or, the
ram n¹ may be directly connected to the mould frame. o shews the end of the
mixing table, from which the moulds are charged with the material to be pressed.
Referring now to the means of removing the produced blocks, after their
discharge from the moulds, illustrated in Figure 4, this means consists of a hydraulic
ram and
P cylinder p¹, the ram carrying on its end the inclined platform hinged
at 2, and a trolly carried by the platform q, onto which the slabs-designated -
are discharged from the mould. The slab is received or turned out onto a board s,
carried by the trolly r, and having underneath it cross staves t by which it is lifted
from the trolly. u denotes the railway-which is inclined, as shewn---down which
the trollies with their loads run, automatically, upon being lowered.
In action, the mould is placed in the position shewn in Figure 2, having upon
its upper face of the bottom h suitable porous filter cloth or material al, through
which the water will be expressed in the act of pressing; and it is filled with the
cement concrete from the table o, and when filled, and the surface having been
made even with that of the upper edge of the frame g, another porous filter cloth
or material is placed over the material in the mould. The mould being thus
ready, it is pushed along the rails m by the ram n' above referred to, under the

page_text: press; and then, when in position, the rams d are raised and brought into contact
with the ends of the frame g, and lift the mould up to and make a joint with the
surface of the head a; after which, the pressure is admitted to the cylinder of the
main pressing ram c, and whereupon the table e rises, and the bottom is pushed
up, pressing the material in the mould frame g; the expressed water passing away
by the apertures in the mould. When the water is expressed, and the material /
subjected to the pressure for the length of time which will render the slab
sufficiently hard to bear the subsequent manipulations, the bottom is gripped and
held by the nuts k² by rotating the wheel ', and pressure is removed from the
rams, and the table e falls; whereupon, the mould is withdrawn from the press by
its operating ram. When the mould has been moved to the position shewn in
Figure 3, the lever is moved off the pins l, and the frame g is reversed by turning
it on its trunnions g' by means of the lever 1; and when it has been revolved over
an are of 180° and taken the horizontal position, with the slab held in the then
under side of the mould, and over the trolly r, the trolly is raised by the ramp,
until the board s meets the under side of the mould, when the wheel ¹ is turned
back and the nuts 2 slackened from off the sides of the bottom ; whereupon the
weight of the released bottom forces the slab x out onto the board on the trolly.
The slab being thus received by the trolly, the ram is lowered, and as this
platform q carrying the trolly, comes in contact with the two ledges v vl, it tips it,
moving about the hinge q', into the position shewn in dotted lines (which is the
reverse inclination to that which it has in its raised position), whereby the trolly,
with its slab, is caused by gravity to run down the inclined railway to the point
or position required, where the slab is removed and the trolly-or another trolly-
run back on to the platform q. This completes the cycle of operations.
22
The modification shewn in Figure 5 consists in effecting the raising of the mould
by the rams d through the device y beneath the ends of which the rams d are
disposed, and to which they are attached. In this case the mould is first raised,
when in position in the press, up to the press head by the device y, lifted by the
rams d, and then the table e is raised and acts on the bottom h.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The improvement herein described connected with machinery for making
slabs or blocks, or other pressed articles, of cement concrete, or analogous material,
consisting of a mould comprising a revolvable frame adapted to be moved under
and away from the press, and to he revolved or reversed about its axis; for the
purposes described.
2. In machinery for making slabs or blocks, or other pressed articles, of cement
concrete, or analogous material, a mould comprising a frame (as g) and constructed
and adapted to be revolved about its axis, and a double movable bottom (as h);
operating substantially as herein set forth with reference to the drawings.
3. A revolvable mould of the kind herein described, for making slabs or blocks,
or other pressed articles, from cement concrete, or analogous material, having means
substantially as described for reversing and controlling the action thereof; for the
purposes set forth.
4. The reversible mould, with double sliding bottom, and means for actuating
and controlling the same; particularly as set forth with reference to and shewn
in the drawings.
5. In machinery for making slabs or blocks or other pressed articles, of cement
concrete, or analogous material, the combination, substantially as set forth, of a
press; a reversible mould adapted to be moved under and away from said press;
and a trolly or carriage adapted to be raised and lowered, and disposed at a level
below that of said mould, and to receive the article therefrom when reversed, and
conduct it away from the machinery.
6. The combination in connection with a press and reversible mould, of the

page_text: trolly and means for raising and lowering and actuating same, arranged and
operating as set forth with reference to and shewn in Figures 3 and 4 of the
drawings.
7. In machinery for making slabs or blocks, or other pressed articles, of cement
concrete, or analogous material, a hydraulic press having a head at the upper part;
a mould having a movable bottom; and a double set of rams below, by one of
which the mould is pressed up to the head, and by the other the material is pressed
in the mould substantially as described.
8. The complete machinery for making concrete slabs, having its parts arranged,
combined, and operating, particularly as herein set forth with reference to and
shewn in the drawings.
Dated this 19th day of June 1895.
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
15 Water Street, Liverpool, Applicants' Patent Agents.