IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, PIPES, AND TILES."
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Barlow Wright and Henry Thomas Green,
of Rugby, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, PIPES, AND TILES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Barlow Wright
and Henry Thomas Green at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents.
with their Petition, on the 27th November 1857.
We, SAMUEL BARLOW WRIGHT and HENRY THOMAS GREEN, of Rugby, do
hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, PIPES, AND TILES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in those classes of machines
used in the manufacture of bricks, pipes, and tiles, where clay in a plastic
state is expressed through orifices of a pug mill or other expressing
machinery, and consists, first, in an improved manner of driving & regulating
the speed of the cutter which cuts the clay into lengths. For this purpose
the cutting instrument is driven by means of a friction strap or pulley, which
receives motion from the steam engine or other motive power. And in order
that the speed at which the cutting instrument is driven may be regulated by
the speed at which the clay is being expressed from the orifice of the pug mill,
the cutting instrument is also put in connection, by means of cog wheels or
otherwise, with one of the rollers or drums around which the endless band
turns, which receives the stream of clay as it comes from the orifice of the
pug mill.

page_text: The second part of my Invention consists in an improved instrument for
dividing a stream of clay from a pug mill or other expressing machinery into
lengths. This instrument consists of a wheel, the ends of the spokes of which
nearest the periphery are formed of wires, which form the cutters for dividing
the clay. The portion of the spokes nearest the centre are formed of ash or
other flexible material, so that they can spring sideways. This wheel is placed
in such a position that the portions of the spokes, which consist of wires, pass
through the stream of clay when the wheel is rotated, and the wheel is placed
at such an angle across the stream of clay that the cut of the wires through
the bottom of the stream is at right angles to that stream. Above and below
the stream of clay there are guides fixed, which cause the wires while passing
through the clay to deviate sufficiently from the plane of the wheel to make
the wires cut in a plane at right angles to the stream of clay. Where the
wires pass out of the stream of clay the clay is supported on each side of
the wire by a frame with moveable sides, kept in position by means of springs
of sufficient strength to support the clay during the exit of the wire, but
which will permit the sides to spring open, and allow stones or roots to pass
away, which would otherwise break the wires, should the wires meet with
such obstructions. The sides of the frame for supporting the clay are
perforated, and water is caused to percolate through the perforations, in
order to prevent the clay adhering to the sides; and the stream of clay,
after leaving the endless band, is supported by pallets lubricated in a similar
manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Barlow Wright and Henry Thomas Green in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th May 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, SAMUEL
BARLOW WRIGHT and HENRY THOMAS GREEN; of Rugby, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of November, in the
year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first
year of ller reign, did, for Herself, Her. heirs and successors, give and grant
unto us, the said Samuel Barlow Wright and Henry Thomas Green, Her
special licence, that we, the said Samuel Barlow .Wright and Henry Thomas
Green, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said Samuel Barlow Wright and Henry Thomas Green, our executors,

page_text: administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS USED IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, PIPES, AND TILES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Samuel Barlow Wright and Henry Thomas Green,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or
their hands and seals, or under the hand and scal of one of us or them,
should particularly 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 we, the said Samuel Barlow Wright and Henry
Thomas Green, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in those classes of machines
used in the manufacture of bricks, pipes, and tiles, where clay in a plastic
state is expressed through orifices of a pug mill or other expressing
machinery, and consists, first in an improved manner of driving and regulating
the speed of the cutter which cuts the clay into lengths. For this purpose
the cutting instrument is driven by means of a friction strap or pulley, which
receives motion from the steam engine or other motive power. And in order
that the speed at which the cutting instrument is driven may be regulated by
the speed at which the clay is being expressed from the orifice of the pug mill,
the cutting instrument is also put in connection by means of cog wheels, or
otherwise, with one of the rollers or drums, around which the endless band
turns, which receives the stream of clay as it comes from the orifice of the
puig mill.
The second part of our Invention consists in an improved instrument for
dividing a stream of clay from a pug mill, or other expressing machinery, into.
lengths. This instrument consists of a wheel, the ends of the spokes of which.
nearest the periphery are formed of wires which form the cutters for dividing
the clay. The portion of the spokes nearest the centre are formed of ash or
other flexible material, so that they can spring sideways. This wheel is placed
in such a position that the portions of the spokes which consist of wires pass
through the stream of clay when the wheel is rotated, and the wheel is placed
'at such an angle across the stream of clay that the cut of the wires through

page_text: the bottom of the stream is at right angles to that stream. Above and below.
the stream of clay there are guides fixed, which cause the wires while passing
through the clay to deviate sufficiently from the plano of the wheel to mako
the wires cut in a plane at right angles to the stream of clay. Where the
wires pass out of the stream of clay, the clay is supported on each side of
the wire by a frame with moveable sides, kept in position by means of springs
of sufficient strength to support the clay during the exit of the wire, but which
will permit the sides to spring open, and allow stones or roots to pass away,
which would otherwise break the wires, should the wires meet with such
obstructions. The stream of clay, after leaving the endless band, is supported
by perforated pallets, and water is caused to percolato through the perforations,
in order to prevent the clay adhering to the pallets.
Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, we will proceed to
describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a side view; Figure 2 a plan, and Figure 3 an end view, of an
apparatus constructed according to our Invention for dividing a stream of clay
as it comes from the orifice of a pug mill or other expressing machine. A is a
die or orifice suitable for making bricks, through which the clay is expressed;
B is the stream of clay, which is supported as it comes from the die or orifice
by the endless band a, which turns around the rollers b, b', the axes of which
turn in bearings in the frame c. The axis of the cylinder b is hollow, and
through this axis the axis d passes; on the axis dis keyed a pulley e, which re-
ceives motion by a band from the engine, which gives motion to the expressing
machinery. On the end of the axis d there is a screw thread on which a nut
screws, and by causing the nut e' press against the end of the hollow axis
6, the hollow axis 6 has a tendency givon to it to rotate when the pulley e is
rotated, which tendency to rotate may be regulated by screwing up or un-
screwing the nut e'. On the hollow axis of the cylinder 6 there is a bevilled
toothed wheelf, which takes into another bevilled toothed wheel g on an axis
'h, which turns in bearings attached to the frame c, and on this axis thero is
another toothed wheel g', which takes into teeth on the periphery of the wheel
i, to be hereafter described; the spokes of which as the wheel revolves divide
the clay into lengths. By this means, the rate at which the cutting wheel
revolves is regulated by the speed at which the clay is being expressed, and so
the stream is always divided into equal lengths.
Figure 6 is a plan view of another arrangement of apparatus, constructed
according to our Invention, for regulating the speed at which the cutting wheel

page_text: revolves by means of the friction of the stream of clay on the endless band. In
this arrangement the cutting wheel i is driven direct from the engine by means
of a friction strap, not shewn in the Drawings; and in order that the speed at
which the cutting wheel revolves may be regulated by the speed at which the.
clay is being expressed, the teeth around the periphery of the cutting wheel
take into the teeth of the wheel g', on the axis h, on which there is a toothed.
wheel 9, which takes into another toothed wheel g², on the axis of which there
is a toothed wheel which takes into the toothed wheel f, on the axis of the
cylinder b; the cylinder being assisted in its rotation by means of a friction.
strap, as in the former arrangement, so as to overcome the friction of the axis
of the cylinders b, 6. By these means motion is communicated direct to the
cutting wheel, whilst the toothed wheel gå acts as an escapement, and permits
the cutting wheel to revolve, but no power applied to the cutting wheel would
cause the cylinder 6 to rotate, and we would remark, that although we have
shewn the arrangements for regulating the speed of the cutting instrument,
applied to a cutting instrument constructed according to our Invention, the
speed at which other cutting instruments are driven may also in a similar
manner be regulated by the speed at which the clay is being expressed from
the expressing machinery.
We will now proceed to describe our improved apparatus for dividing the
stream of clay into lengths. ¹ is the centre of the cutting wheel which turns
on an axis on the standard j; to the centre ¹ are attached spokes k, k, of ash
or other suitable flexible material, made thin, so that they will bend sideways,
but not in the direction in which the wheel rotates to the ends of the spokes;
k, k, are attached wires which are connected to the periphery k', and the wires
are kept extended by means of the springs ², as shewn at Figure 4, which is
a separate view of the cutter wheel. The periphery of the cutter wheel is
kept in position by means of the pulleys 1, 1, supported by the standard j; and
the standard is attached to the frame c, as shewn in the Drawing, so that it
can be placed at a greater or less angle to the stream of clay. The cutting
wheel is set at an angle to the stream of clay, so that as the stream of clay
moves onwards, the wires of the cutting wheel cut through the bottom of the
stream of clay at right angles. The wires of the cutting wheel as they pass
through the stream of clay, pass between guides 1, l', attached to the frame c;
the guides being below the stream of clay, and the guides A, above the stream
of clay. The guides below the stream of clay are placed at the same angle
across the stream of clay as the cutting wheel; the guides, above the stream
of clay, are placed at a greater angle across the stream of clay, so as to force
the wires out of the plane of the cutting wheel, and cause them to cut the

page_text: stream of clay at right angles vertically. Where the wires pass out of the
stream of clay, the clay is supported by the pieces m, n, (shewn at Figure 5)
between which the wires pass. The piece m is capable of turning on a centre,
and where the piece n is pushed back by one of the wires meeting with a
stone, root, or other obstruction, it pushes back the piece m', which is kept
against the piece m by means of a spring, as shewn, and on the piece m' there
is a stop to prevent the piece m being turned round too far. The piece n is
also kept against the stream of clay by a spring, and is capable of sliding back
so as to allow a stone or root to escape should any of the cutting wires meet
with such obstructions, and on the piece n there is a stop to prevent its being
pushed too far. In order to prevent the clay adhering to the pieces m, n,
there is a roller D, covered with felt, placed against the side of the clay, and
water is caused to drop on the felt roller, which moistens the clay sufliciently
to prevent it adhering, or the pieces m, n, may be lubricated in any other
suitable manner. In order to lubricate the pallets which support the clay
after it comes from the endless band, the pallets, which are formed of wood,
are covered over with plates of perforated metal, and grooves are formed in
the wood underneath the metal plates, and water is supplied to the grooves by
a flexible pipe.
.
In witness whereof, we, the said Samuel Barlow Wright and Henry
Thomas Green, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twenty-
fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-eight.
SAMUEL BARLOW WRIGHT. (L.S.)
HENRY THOMAS GREEN.
(L.B.)
Witness to the signature, sealing, and delivery
of Henry Thomas Green,
JOHN CLEAVER, Rugby.
Witness to the signing, sealing, and delivery
of Samuel Barlow Wright,
ROBERT WRIGHT, Sol.,
Stone, Staffordshire.