Improvements in Machinery for the Manufacture of Bricks and Tiles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 19th May, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 16th Feb., 1898-Accepted, 19th May, 1898
Improvements in Machinery for the Manufacture of Bricks and
Tiles.
WE, GEORGE WOOLLISCROFt and HENRY TODD, both Directors of George
Woolliscroft & Son, Limited, of Hanley, in the County of Stafford, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :—
In the Specification of a Patent No. 11721 of 1890 a machine is described for
cutting a continuously moving stream of clay in which the cutters are pivotted to
a pair of wheels and are so governed that they always remain vertical.
This machine had certain defects which it is the object of the present invention
to remove.
As before the cutters are pivotted to a pair of wheels and have crank arms fixed
to them but in place of these arms being coupled by links to a revolving eccentric
ring as described in that Specification they now carry rollers working in fixed
circular cam paths eccentric to the wheels.
Improvements in Machinery for the Manufacture of Bricks and
Tiles.
GEORGE WOOLLISCROFT, of Cornhill Cross, Leek, and HENRY TODD, of Brick and
Tile Works, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, both in the County of Stafford, and both
Directors of George Woolliscroft & Son Limited, Encaustic Tile Works, Hanley,
Staffordshire, 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 :-
The object of our invention is a rotary machine capable of cutting from a stream
of clay or other plastic body of various thicknesses which passes through the
machine with a regular or irregular motion pieces of an equal and suitable length
for making bricks, tiles, quarries or other goods. The motive power required to
operate the said machine is obtained from the force in which the stream of clay or
other plastic body moves forward, thus working automatically & is constructed
in the following manner :-
There are two wheels which are coupled together so as to revolve both at the
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page_text: same time upon a centre axle. The rims of the said wheels are constructed in such
a manner as to be capable of carrying a requisite quantity of smaller axles, to which
the knives are attached. To each end of each of the said axles we secure a crank.
At the end of each crank there is a runner or roller that works into a circular cam
or race which is fixed eccentric to the wheels for the purpose of keeping the
knives in a vertical position when in the action of cutting the clay or other plastic
body.
There is a spring at the front of the machine and another at the back arranged
in such a manner that they can be adjusted so as to prevent the knives from turning
over as they revolve round the axle.
In order to make this invention capable of cutting from a stream of clay or
other plastic body of various thicknesses pieces of an equal and suitable length we
adopt the following arrangement.
To each end of the shafts or spindles S, which carry the knives K, we insert a
stud for the purpose of carrying a disc or runner R, each of the said runners as
they revolve round the centre axle A, touch and press down in their turn a lever L,
the said lever is made in two parts and secured together in such a manner that
the end of lever can be arranged to come in contact with the runners at the
required time. The other end of the said lever is connected to one part of the
circular cam or race C, which is constructed in such a manner that it is capable of
being moved nearer to the centre by the action of the said lever, thus bringing
back the cutting edge of each knife to its required distance before entering the
clay.
The required distance is regulated by means of two levers L L, which are
operated simultaneously by two screws N, two worm wheels W, & two worms
which are connected together with a shaft T. To one end of the shaft T, there is
keyed handwheel H. The action of this invention is as follows:-
The pressure of the stream of clay revolve the knives round the axle A, as they
go round the runners R, presses one end of the lever L down, the other end raises
part of cam M, which brings back the knife. A few turns of the handwheel H one
way make the cam C rise higher and a few turns the other way stops it from
rising.
In order to make our invention more easily understood we have appended a sheet
of drawings the reference letters corresponding with these herein.
Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the cutter with one cam removed so that it
will be more easily understood.
A is the centre axle, B is the bracket that the knives are screwed in, K are the
knives, C is the cam or race, M is the movable part of cam or race. Rrare runners
that work in the cam or race, R are the runners that catch against the levers that
operate the movable part of cam, L is the lever, L L is the lever that regulates the
movable part of cam, H is the handwheel which turns the shaft T that connects
the two worm wheels W which in turn operate the worms N to rise or lower the
levers L and LL, P is the bed plate, U is the table that the stream of clay slides
upon, E is the clay as it goes undor the machine, D is the clay as it comes
out.
Figure 2 is a front elevation in section the letters corresponding with those in
Figure 1.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The way and means herein set forth of cutting various lengths as required
from a stream of clay or other plastic body of various thicknesses suitable for making
bricks, tiles, quarries or other goods automatically from an irregular or regular
stream of clay or other plastic body.
2. The way and means herein set forth and shewn upon the accompanying

page_text: drawing of keeping the knives of the said machine in a vertical position when in the
action of cutting the stream of clay or other plastic body.
Dated this Oth don of Mar 1808
G. WOOLLISCROFT.
HENRY TODD.