AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PRESSED AND MOULDED BLOCKS AND BRICKS, AND FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PRESSED AND MOULDED
BLOCKS AND BRICKS, AND FOR SIMILAR PURPOSES." A communication from
abroad by Henry Clark Sergeant, and Edward Stanly Stokes, both of the City
and State of New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 4th January 1878, and dated the 15th November 1877.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th November 1877.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
"AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR THE MANU-
Southampton Buildings, London.
FACTURE OF PRESSED AND MOULDED BLOCKS AND BRICKS, AND FOR SIMILAR
PURPOSES." A communication from abroad by Henry Clark Sergeant, and Edward
Stanly Stokes, both of the City and State of New York, United States of
America.
The object of this Invention is to provide a machine for making paving blocks,
pressing bricks, and blocks of composite fuel, and for similar purposes.
The said Invention comprises the combining and arranging of driving nechanism
and cams with reference to a presser, plunger, and moving mould, in such a manner
that as the material is fed to the machine, a suitable amount thereof is inter-
mittently forced into the mould and pressed therein; then the said mould is shifted
into such a position as to permit the plunger to force the pressed block out, and
allow it to fall upon an endless apron for carrying it away or into a trough
containing water, in which it may be cooled when the block has been formed from
heated material, as herein-after described, the parts of this machine being automatic
in their operation.

page_text: mould, the sliding presser, the clearing aperture in the forward end thereof, the
cams which move the presser, the sliding mould or die in which the bricks or blocks
are formed, and the mechanism for moving the saine.
Figure 2 is an elevation with one of the driving wheels removed, showing the
framework, the feeding hopper, the sliding mould, the cam which moves the same,
and a yoke and friction roller operated by the said cam.
Figure 3 is a transverse section, showing the sliding mould, the plunger which
presses the finished block therefrom, clearing apertures in the said mould, an
eccentrically formed shaft for regulating the position of the said mould with
reference to the plunger, and connecting rods which impart movement to the
mould.
Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical section showing the aforesaid parts in position,
and also the plunger for removing the block from the mould.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of the block presser, showing a swinging yoke
against which the cam presses in moving the presser forward, the friction roller for
returning it to its position, and the apertures and recess for allowing the material
which passes its end in its forward movement to be removed.
Figure 6 is a plan of the plunger for removing the block from the mould, showing
also a portion of the main shaft of the machine, and the cams which move the.
presser.
Figure 7 is an end view, partly in section, showing the presser with the clearing
aperture in its end, and the plunger in position.
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the support of the lower end of the hopper..
In constructing these improved machines I provide a frame A, the sides and
rear end of which are by preference of one piece of cast metal, but which may
be of any suitable material, and bolted together. To this frame legs A¹ of any
required height are attached, and it is otherwise adapted for the reception and
support of the working parts of the machine. The said frame has upon its rear
upper surface projections, to which a plate A2 is attached, and in which are formed
bearings A3, A4, in which rests a shaft A³. The latter has upon one of its ends a
fly wheel A, which may also serve as a pulley for receiving a belt for driving the
machine.; or a separate pulley or gear wheel may be placed thereon, which may
receive motion from any suitable motor. Upon this shaft A5 there are firmly
secured two pinions or small gear wheels A7, A8, which mesh with and impart
motion to two larger wheels B, B¹, keyed or otherwise secured to a shaft B³, as
shown in Figures 2 and 4. This shaft passes through the sides of the frame and has
its bearings therein; its ends extend outward far enough to allow of there being
secured thereto the gear wheels B, B¹, and between the latter and the surfaces of
the frame are arranged the cams B3 and 'B', the office of which will be herein-after
described.
Upon the central portion of the shaft B² there is secured a series of cams, one
cam C being located at or near the outer end of the shaft, and having a groove C¹
in its centre, as shown in Figure 6; the outer surface of the said grooved portion is
a perfect circle, but eccentric to the shaft, in order that it may be made to carry
forward the presser at the proper time, this action being effected by the full part of
said excentric coming in contact with a swinging yoke soon to be described. The
flanges on either side of the aforesaid groove are cam-shaped upon their peripheries,
and constitute a series of cams for controlling the movements of the presser on its
return stroke, and after it has performed its office of pressing the block, that portion
of this cam extending from 3 to 4 has a slighter curvature than the remaining
portion, as shown in Figure 4, in order that it may leave the presser in a state of
rest for a short time after it has been carried forward and has pressed the block,
and then that it may be suddenly withdrawn and impart its rapid movement to
the plunger which presses the block from the mould. From the point 4 on the
cam C to the point 5, the degree of curvature is less than from the last-named point
to point 3, in order that when the presser has been withdrawn or carried rearward
to its full extent, it may be retained in that position until the excentric C¹.comes in

page_text: contact with the swinging yoke to again carry it forward. Upon the sides of the
cams 1 and 2 and attached thereto or to the shaft B2, are placed two other cams C⁹
and C3, these move with the cams 1 and 2, but are so arranged with reference
thereto, that as soon as the presser has been carried forward to its full extent, they
will come in contact with friction rollers C and C5, carry the plunger forward, and
press the block out of the mould while the presser is being withdrawn, and the
material is being brought into position to be thrust forward and pressed by the next
forward movement of the said presser. Upon the same shaft B2, but outside of the
frame A, are placed two cams B³ and B, one upon either side of the frame; their
office is to act upon levers D, D, and thus operate the sliding mold D¹ which is a
metal plate having in it the aperture, wherein the bricks or blocks are formed, and
a series of apertures D³, shown clearly in Figure 3, the office of the latter being to
afford means for preventing the clogging of the mould when asphalt or other pasty
substances are used as a component part of the material to be pressed. These
apertures are located just above the aperture into which the material is pressed,
and are so arranged that when the mould is carried down to its lowest. position,
they or some of them pass below the upper sharp edge of a stationary plate D',
placed in the forward end of the machine, and between the presser and the plunger,
as seen in Figure 4; the small amount of material which passes up around the
presser when forming the block is upon the downward movement of the mould
forced through the said apertures, either by the presser or by the plate D*, and the
machine is thus relieved from what would otherwise cause a great resistance to its
movements, and ultimately, if not removed, cause breaking of the moving parts.
The mould D¹ is operated by the above-named agencies, and the cams B³ and B*
upon the shaft B² are so constructed and arranged with reference to the movements
of the presser, that when the latter is moving forward to press the block their
peripheries do not touch the levers D, but so soon as the requisite pressure has
been imparted to the material, at which time the mould is in its most elevated
position, the said cams come in contact with the levers D, D, which are pivotted to
the frame A, and by elevating their rear euds cause their forward ends to be
lowered, thus by means of the connecting rods D5 carrying down the said mould
into a position that will permit the plunger to be thrust forward and carry the
pressed block out of the mould, and as usual deliver it into a trough or box con-
taining water, through which it may be carried by means of an endless belt, or by
any other suitable means, and in doing which it will have been cooled and will be
ready for use.
The aforesaid cooling apparatus will only be found necessary when material such
as broken stones and asphalt, or some other composition which requires to be
heated before being pressed, is used.
When brick for building purposes, made of clay or other similar substance, and
fuel blocks are being pressed, the cooling apparatus may be dispensed with.
For returning the mould to its most elevated position, the yoke D® is made to
span the shaft B², and has its upper end pivoted to the lever D, as shewn in
Figure 2, whereby when the plunger has been withdrawn from the mould, the
cam B³ will come in contact with a friction roller D7 in the lower end of the yoke,
and the mould will be lifted to the proper position to receive its charge of material
and have it pressed. In machines of this character, it is essential that the forward
end of the presser should work past the end of the dividing plate D, and to allow it
to do so without coming in contact with the face of the mould, there is a recess formed
in its inner face; this recess allows the proper travel of the presser, and also
obviates the shearing of the material as the mould is carried downward, as at such
times there is a small space between its recessed face and the end of dividing
plate D
The material to be operated upon by this machine, when consisting of finely
broken stones, asphalt, and a small quantity of oil or other composition suitable for
making a durable paving block, is first heated in any suitable receptacle, one being
provided for the stone, one for the asphalt, and another for the proper admixture of

page_text: the same.
When the material is thus treated and mixed, it is carried by any
suitable means to the hopper E, down through which it passes to the surface of the
dividing plate D, when by the forward movement of the presser F it is carried
forward into the recess F¹ of the mould, where it receives its pressure.
The device F, termed the presser, consists of a plate of metal made to slide in a
recess formed in the frame A, as shewn in Figures 1, 4, and 7, its front end is
provided with a recess F2, which extends rearward therein for a short distance, and
then slants upward and terminates in the upper surface of the presser at F³; it is
thus constructed for the purpose of allowing any of the sticky or pasty material
remaining upon the end thereof, and which is not carried away by the apertures in
the sliding mould, to pass up to the upper surface of said presser, and be removed
by coming in contact with the edge of a cap F' which holds the forward end of the
presser in position.
As further means for relieving the presser from the clogging material, a recess F³
is formed in its under surface, which extends from a point near its forward end, as
shewn in Figure 5, to an aperture formed vertically through the presser at Fe; by
means of this contrivance any of the material getting under the presser is carried
backward and delivered through an aperture formed in the plunger. This presser F
is operated by means of a swinging yoke G and a pair of friction rollers, the
former serving to carry it forward upon being pressed by the excentric C¹, and the
latter to carry it rearward by pressure by the projections 1 and 2 of cam C, as
berein-before described. The friction rollers in this case are journalled in pro-
jections formed upon the under side of the presser, the said projections being
furnished upon their rear ends with a plate F, which may in thickness be adapted
to cause an earlier or later withdrawal of the plunger from the mould by coming in
contact with a projection thereon.
That portion of the said machine, termed the plunger, consists of a metal plate,
as is shewn in Figure 6; it is of the curved form shown in Figure 4, and carries
upon its rear end a projection, which, as above specified, is acted upon by the projecting
plate F; in withdrawing it from the recess in the mould, it is carried forward by
means of the cams C2 and C³ as previously described; and in order that it may at
all times enter the aperture in the mould without obstruction by contact with its
upper or lower-surfaces, an excentrically formed shaft D is placed in bearings
formed in the sliding mould, so that by turning the same therein the mould will be
either raised or lowered, as occasion may require, to adapt it for the reception of the
plunger.
For receiving and retaining the lower end of the feeding hopper, and for
strengthening the mould as well as directing the material thereto, a cap I, Figure 8,
is so bolted to the frame that its outer face comes in contact with the mould, and a
bevelled projecting lip upon its under surface extends downward, and directs the
material into the mould in a solid mass, and thus presents the formation of blocks
when the mould is only partially filled.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondents, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,-
First. In a machine for forming and pressing paving blocks, bricks, and blocks of
composite fuel, a mould in which the material is received and pressed, having in its
face a recess as above described, and for the purpose set forth.;
Second. In a machine for forming and pressing paving blocks, bricks, and blocks
of composite fuel, a presser having in its forward or pressing end a curved recess
for the purpose of preventing the clogging of the said presser, as above set
forth.
Third. In a machine for forming and pressing paving blocks, bricks, and blocks
of composite fuel, a sliding mould having in a portion of its surface a series of
apertures for relieving the same from obstruction in being operated by the accu-
mulation of sticky or pasty substances, as above set forth.
Fourth. In a machine for forming and pressing paving blocks, bricks, and blocks

page_text: of composite fuel, a presser having a longitudinal recess in its under surface, and a
vertical aperture through its body, as and for the purpose set forth.
Fifth. În a machine for forming and pressing paving blocks, bricks, and blocks of
composite fuel, the combination of the sliding mould, the levers, the yoke, and the
cam, arranged to operate as above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Sixth. In a machine for forming and pressing paving blocks, bricks, and blocks
of composite fuel, the presser carrying the yoke for moving it forward, and friction
rollers for carrying it rearward, as above set forth.
Seventh. The plunger, having a movement independent of the presser on its
forward movement, but carried rearward by a projection formed upon the said
presser, as above set forth.
Eighth.. In a machine for forming and pressing paving blocks, bricks, and blocks
of composite fuel, the combination of the presser and the plunger so arranged with
reference to each other that they each have an independent forward movement,
but the plunger is carried rearward by the movement of the presser, as above set
forth.
Ninth. In a machine for forming and pressing paving blocks, bricks, and blocks
of composite fuel, the combination of the cam C and yoke G, as and for the purpose
set forth.
Tenth. In a machine for forming and pressing paving blocks, bricks, and blocks
of composite fuel, the cap I, having upon its lower surface a bevelled projection for
relieving the plunger, as above set forth.
Eleventh. In a machine for forming and pressing paving blocks, bricks, and
blocks of composite fuel, the hopper arranged with reference to the presser and the
sliding mould, as above set forth.
Twelfth. A machine for the purposes above specified consisting of the parts con-
structed and combined, as shown in the accompanying Drawing, and operating as
above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
TIM DADT
YY
ROB. LAKE. (L.S.)