Improvements in Machines for Casting Pottery Ware.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 6th July, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 7th Apr., 1896-Accepted, 9th May, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Casting Pottery Ware.
1, WILLIAM ILLINGWORTH, of 17, Blurton Road, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, in
the County of Stafford, Potter's Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in that class of machines for casting
pottery ware forming the subject of Patent No. 10887 of 1889.
In such machines the "slip" or liquid clay is poured from a number of vessels
or slippers into a corresponding number of moulds and is kept there until a
sufficient thickness of the same has adhered to the moulds when the latter are
This process entails
tilted so as to empty the superfluous slip from the same.
waste of time to the operator as he has to wait for the slip to adhere to the mould
and then to empty out the superfluous slip or liquid clay.
Now the object of my invention is to obviate this loss of time and in carrying
the same into practice I provide a vertical shaft or pillar of metal, wood or other
suitable substance adapted to be fixed to the floor or to be suspended from above
and on the top of the said shaft or pillar I arrange a cistern or reservoir to contain
the slip or liquid clay. The said cistern is provided with sliding brackets adapted
to carry a box or trough which may be provided with partitions or not as required
and which is adapted to receive by any suitable means the slip or liquid clay from
the cistern or reservoir. I also provide in connection with the said box or trough
a lever or other suitable means for raising or tilting the said box to enable the
slip or liquid clay to be passed into moulds which are carried by projecting arms
or frames attached to a rotatable rack arranged underneath the cistern and adapted
to move round the vertical shaft or pillar. The said rack is provided with a
lever, cam or other arrangement for raising and lowering the same to suit moulds
of different sizes.
Underneath the rack I arrange a receptacle adapted to receive the superfluous
slip from the moulds which are provided with a lever or other suitable arrangement
whereby they can be tilted to any desired angle and on the vertical shaft I arrange
a cog wheel adapted to gear with a series of toothed wheels mounted on small
shafts which are attached to the rack and which pass into the cistern or reservoir.
Inside the said cistern each of the series of small shafts is provided with one or
more arms so that, when the rack is rotated round the vertical shaft, the small
shafts are revolved whereby the arms attached to the same mix or stir up the slip
or liquid clay.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-
The first set of moulds being filled with slip or liquid clay from the box or
trough, the rack is rotated a certain distance round the vertical shaft or pillar
thereby bringing a fresh set of moulds into position for being filled, the first set
being left a sufficient time to enable the necessary thickness of slip to adhere to
the moulds when it is tilted to any desired angle to empty out the superfluous slip
into the receptacle arranged beneath the moulds as above described.
ليم
1
ST. 1905
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Machines for Casting Pottery ware.
I, WILLIAM ILLINGWORTH, of 17, Blurton Road, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent, in
the County of Stafford, Potter's Manager, 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 relates to improvements in that class of machines for casting
pottery ware forming the subject of Patent No. 10887 of 1889.
In such machines the "slip" or liquid clay is poured from a number of vessels or
slippers into a corresponding number of moulds and is kept there until a sufficient
thickness of the same has adhered to the moulds when the latter are tilted so as to
empty the superfluous slip from the same. This process entails waste of time
to the operator as he has to wait for the slip to adhere to the mould and then to
empty out the superfluous slip or liquid clay.
Now the object of my invention is to obviate this loss of time, and in carrying
the same into practice I provide a vertical shaft or pillar of metal, wood or other
suitable material adapted to be fixed to the floor or to be suspended from above,
and on the top of the said shaft or pillar I arrange a cistern or reservoir to contain
the slip or liquid clay. The said cistern is provided with sliding brackets adapted
to carry a box or trough which may be provided with partitions or not as
required.
The sets of moulds are carried by projecting arms or frames attached to a
rotatable rack arranged underneath the cistern and adapted to move round the
vertical shaft or pillar.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is an elevation of my improved machine or apparatus; and,
Figure 2 is a sectional plan of the same, the section being taken on the line 2-2,
Figure 1:
Figure 3 is a vertical section; and,
Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4, Figure 3.
a is the vertical shaft or pillar upon which my apparatus is mounted, and b is
the cistern or reservoir for the liquid clay or slip, the said reservoir being fixed on
the upper end of the pillar a. e is the trough or box which may be divided with
partitions (or not) as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1, and which is adapted
to receive the liquid clay or slip from the cistern b.
A series of cocks d, d is arranged on the underside of the cistern b for
allowing the discharge of the slip from the cistern into the said trough, as shewn
in the drawings, five of such cocks d are shewn, each being provided with two
spouts, each adapted to fill one division of the trough which is represented as
formed with ten divisions.
The box c is at its ends carried upon trunnions e, e, having bearings in blocks f, f
adapted to slide in grooves or channels g, g in brackets h, h fixed to the cistern b,
this arrangement permitting of the trough being moved backwards and forwards
in the brackets h, h so as to permit of moving the trough from the forward position,
which it occupies whilst the moulds are being filled, into the backward position
shewn in Figure 3 which it occupies whilst being filled with slip from the cistern.
Any suitable means may be provided for moving the said trough backwards and
forwards. As shewn in the drawings this movement is effected by means of bell-
cranked levers i, pivoted at 2, to the brackets h, hand connected at one end to
the trunnions of the trough; these levers i, i are united by means of bars or
rails, so as to permit of operating the two bell-cranked levers in unison.
k is a lever fixed to the trough or box for raising or tilting the said box to
f

page_text: enable the liquid clay or slip to flow into the moulds, and 1, 2 are the spouts through.
which the said clay flows.
m, m, m are three racks for moulds, which racks are carried by bearings upon
brackets n, n, n on the ends of three arms 0,0,0 (forming a frame) fixed to a
bracket or sleeve p free to rotate on the central pillar a, the said racks being so
arranged that by rotating the frame o they can be successively brought beneath-
the spouts of the trough c.
As shewn in Figure 3 of the drawing each rack is represented as being
composed of an under plank q and an upper plank q¹ having openings into which
the moulds fit.
In order to retain the moulds in the racks whilst the latter are being reversed
to empty out the superfluous slip, I advantageously provide an arrangement of
arms r, r fixed to a common shaft and adapted to be operated by means of a.
bar s (formed on one of the arms r) which, when the said arms r,r press upon the
moulds, engages with a spring-catch t.
The operation of the apparatus herein before described is as follows:-
A set of moulds being placed in one of the racks m, the latter is moved around.
by means of the frame o until it comes in proximity with the trough c whereupon.
the latter, after having been moved into its proper position over the moulds, is tilted
by means of the handle k in order that its contents shall be poured into the moulds.
when the said trough is again returned to its normal position; the first set of
moulds having been filled with slip or clay the frame carrying the racks is rotated
a certain distance around the.vertical shaft or pillar a, thereby bringing the fresh.
set of moulds into position for filling, the set previously filled being left for a
sufficient time to enable the necessary thickness of slip to adhere to the moulds,
when the rack is tilted to empty out the superfluous slip. It will thus be under-.
stood that when three racks are employed a filled set of moulds in one rack can be.
allowed to stand for the clay to set whilst the moulds in the other racks are being
filled or replaced.
u represents a tank or vessel into which the superfluous slip can be tipped from
the moulds. u indicates the lever-handle with which each rack is provided for
enabling the tipping to be readily effected.
In order to mix or stir up the slip or liquid clay in the cistern b, I provide an.
arrangement of stirrers within the said tank, which stirrers are rotated at the
same time as the rack-frame o is rotated. In the drawings I have represented two.
of these stirrers v, v each of which is mounted upon a shaft v passing through a
sleeve v² in the tank and has fixed to its lower end a pinion 3 which engages with
a wheel upon the standard or pillar a. With this arrangement it will be readily
understood that as the wheel vi connected with the bracket p by pins or keys -
(which permit of vertical movement relatively with the wheel v¹) is rotated owing
to the rotation of the rack carrying frame o the motion will be communicated to
the wheel and thence through the pinions v³ and shafts v¹ to the stirrers v in the
tank b.
To raise or lower the racks according to the shape of the moulds being filled,.
As shewn in
I provide for raising or lowering the bracket p upon the pillar a.
the drawings I effect this through the medium of a sleeve w having a series of
rack teeth a formed upon one side of it with which a toothed segment ¹ carried
by a counterbalanced lever a² engages. The lever 2 is carried by a bracket
having formed in it a series of holes y', y'. It will be obvious that a pin y2 placed
in one or the other of the said holes will limit the extent to which the segment al
and consequently the sleeve w can move downwards.
y
It is sometimes necessary to lift the racks toward the spouts of the filling
trough whilst the filling operation is being effected, and for this purpose I provide.
the said sleeve w with a second rack with which a counterbalanced toothed
segment ¹ on a lever carried by brackets ³ engages. The lever 2 has at its.
It will be
outer end a treadie z for enabling it to be operated by the foot.
obvious that by means of this treadle the sleeve w and consequently also the

page_text: rack-frame can be lifted to any desired extent, the downward movement, however,
being limited as before described by the pin y³.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A machine or apparatus for use in casting pottery ware wherein several series
of moulds are carried by racks arranged upon a rotatable frame in such a manner
that the several series of moulds can be successively brought beneath the spouts
of a filling trough, substantially as described.
2. In a machine for casting pottery ware, the combination with a rotating frame
for carrying several series of moulds, of a filling trough arranged to be moved
backwards and forwards relatively with the moulds, substantially as described.
3. In a machine for casting pottery ware the combination of a vertical pillar
or standard, a cistern or reservoir for slip fixed on the upper end of the pillar
or standard, a rotating frame carrying several series of moulds and means for
raising and lowering the said frame upon the pillar or standard, substantially as
described.
4. In a machine for casting pottery ware having a central pillar or standard, a
cistern or reservoir for slip on the top of the said standard and a rotating frame
carrying several series of moulds, the combination with the said reservoir or tank
of a series of stirrers driven from a wheel or pinion during the rotation of the
mould carrying frame, substantially as described.
5. The improved machine for casting pottery ware consisting of the parts
constructed and combined substantially in the manner hereinbefore described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings and operating as, and for the purposes,
set forth.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.