Improvements in Machines for Making Bricks, Tiles, and the like.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Oct., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 25th July, 1892-Accepted, 27th Aug., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Making Bricks, Tiles, and the like.
I, LAURANCE SEAGER, of Sittingbourne, in the County of Kent, Builder and
Contractor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in machines for making or moulding bricks,
tiles and the like.
In carrying out my invention I provide a table mounted upon a vertical pillar or
stand and adapted to be intermittently rotated thereon, and formed in or secured
to the said table is a series of boxes in which the bricks are moulded, the dimensions
of the said boxes corresponding to those of the bricks to be moulded. In each of
these boxes is a sliding frame having upon it a hinged plate which forms the bottom
of the mould, which sliding frame is adapted to be raised at certain times in order to
lift the bricks out of the mould and when the said sliding frame is so raised the
hinged portion thereof is adapted to be turned over or thrown back in order to
deliver the brick thereon onto a table from which it can be removed by hand or
onto a balanced arm and thence onto a travelling platform. These motions
of the sliding frame and its hinged plate are effected through the medium of a
rod engaging with a suitable cam-bar or groove and a spiral spring surrounding
the said rod.
In connection with the driving shaft and rotating table I arrange a plunger
sliding in a box with guides and adapted, as each mould is brought beneath the
same, to descend and compress the clay therein. This plunger is operated by &
crank or cam and is provided with a spring which enables it to yield slightly in a
longitudinal direction. The clay to be moulded is preferably conveyed to the moulds
direct from the pug mill through a suitable shoot. A horizontally sliding knife is
also provided for cutting off the clay which remains projecting above the moulds
after the compression is completed.
I also provide a sieve for sanding the moulds previous to the introduction of the
clay to prevent the latter from sticking or I provide a water spray for the same
purpose, and after the bricks are pressed and cut off previous to being turned out of
the mould a water spray is directed against the same. A supply of "pallet" boards
(on which the bricks are delivered for handling afterwards) is placed in a suitable
frame and in a convenient position that one is taken for every brick by the machine
as it rotates.
I arrange the water spray or sanding apparatus, the mould filling shoot, the
presser, the knife, the pallet boards and the delivery table at different parts of the
circumference of the table so that the various operations will take place successively
as the table rotates.
Instead of hinging the upper part of the lifting frame I may provide grippers or
clamps for taking the bricks after they are elevated by the frame and removing
them.
Dated the 22nd dow of October 1801

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Improvements in Machines for Making Bricks, Tiles, and the like.
I, LAURANCE SEAGER, of Sittingbourne, in the County of Kent, Builder and
Contractor, 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 :-
My invention relates to improvements in machines for making or moulding bricks,
tiles and the like.
In carrying out my invention I provide a table mounted upon a vertical pillar or
stand and adapted to be intermittently rotated thereon, and formed in or secured
to the said table is a series of boxes in which the bricks are moulded, the dimensions
of the said boxes corresponding to those of the bricks or the like to be moulded.
In each of these boxes is a sliding frame having upon it a hinged plate which forms
the bottom of the mould, which sliding frame is adapted to be raised at certain
times in order to lift the bricks out of the mould and when the said sliding frame
is so raised the hinged portion thereof is adapted to be turned over or thrown back
in order to deliver the brick thereon onto a table from which it can be removed by
hand or onto a balanced arm and thence onto a travelling platform. These motions
of each sliding frame and its hinged plate are effected through the medium of a
rod engaging with a suitable cam-bar or groove and a spiral spring surrounding the
said rod.
In connection with the driving shaft and rotating table I arrange a plunger
sliding in a box with guides and adapted, as each mould is brought beneath the
same, to descend and compress the clay or pug therein. This plunger is operated
by a crank or cam and is provided with a spring which enables it to yield in a
longitudinal direction. The clay or pug to be moulded is preferably conveyed to
the moulds direct from the pug mill through a suitable shoot. A horizontally
sliding knife is also provided for cutting off the clay or pug which remains projecting
above the moulds after the compression is completed.
I also provide a sieve for sanding the moulds previous to the introduction of the
clay or pug to prevent the latter from sticking, a water spray for wetting the knife
previous to cutting and another sieve for sanding the bricks after they are pressed
and cut off and previous to being turned out of the mould. A supply of "pallet "
boards (on which the bricks are delivered for handling afterwards) is placed in a
suitable frame and in a convenient position that one is taken for every brick by the
machine as it rotates.
I arrange the first sanding sieve, the mould filling shoot, presser, knife, and
spraying device, the second sanding sieve and the pallet boards and delivery table
at different parts of the table so that the various operations will take place
successively as the table rotates.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a brick making machine constructed according
to my invention, and,
Figure 2 is a section of the same on the line x, x, Figure 1.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 are views illustrating the construction of details of the
apparatus.
a indicates the bed or base of the machine, 6 the vertical pillar upon which the
table c is adapted to be rotated, and d the head of the machine which carries
the driving shaft e in the plummer blocks f, f. 9, 9 are the boxes in which the
bricks are moulded and h, h are the frames sliding in the said boxes and each provided
with a plate i hinged or pivotted to one end of a link j, the other end of which is
pivotted to the upper end of a rod t having at its lower end rollers I, 1.
m is the cam bar by means of which the sliding frames h, h are operated the said
bar being secured to the base a of the machine and having the rollers 1, 1 upon the

page_text: rods & running thereon, the said bar being so shaped that during the greater portion
of the rotation of the table no movement will be imparted to the sliding frames but
so that at one point of the rotation the sliding frames will be successively lifted in
order to discharge the bricks from the moulds.
n, n are springs surrounding the rods k, k and which allow the said rods to move
independently of the sliding frames in order to turn over the hinged plates i, i, the
said frames being limited in their upward movement by stop pins h¹ striking against
the ends of slots h in the moulding boxes g, g.
o is the box into which the clay to be moulded into bricks is delivered either
through a shoot o' direct from the pug mill or from a hopper, the said box being
supported slightly above the top of the table so that as the table rotates the mould
boxes g, g will be successively brought beneath the box o.
p is the plunger sliding in the box o and serving when it is depressed to fill the
mould box g beneath the box o. This plunger pis connected by a rod p¹ to the
pin pupon a crank disc p³ secured to the driving shaft e.
The rod p' is made in two parts connected by a sleeve p' the said sleeve being
rigidly attached to one part of the rod, for instance, by screw threads and a pin as
shewn whilst the other part of the said rod is adapted to slide within the sleeve.
is a spring placed between the adjacent ends of the two parts of the said rod p',
the said spring being of such strength that it will enable the plunger to exert the
desired pressure upon the clay to compress the same in the mould to the required
extent but that when this pressure is exceeded it will yield and thereby allow the
rotation of the crank disc p to continue without causing damage to the machine
as probably would be the case if the rod p' was made in one piece.
q is the knife for cutting off the clay which remains projecting above the top of
the mould box g after the compression is completed. As shown most clearly in
Figure 3 this knife is attached at its ends to two bars q', q' sliding in guides at the
lower end of the box o the said knife being adapted to pass between the bottom of
the box o and the table c. The said knife is preferably operated by means of a
cam upon the driving shaft l acting upon the upper end of a lever pivotted at
to the pillar of the machine and engaging at its lower end which is preferably
bifurcated with pins, upon the side bars 9'. The said cam is preferably
shaped as shown in Figure 4 (which is a development of the said cam drawn to &
reduced scale) so that after the knife has been moved beneath the box o to disconnect
the clay in the mould box from that in the box o it will remain in this position
until the table has moved round to bring an empty mould box g beneath the
box o.
Motion is imparted to the table c from the driving shaft e through the medium
of the bevel wheels, s', the shaft and the arm or levers which is adapted to
engage with the teeth of a wheels attached to or formed integral with the said
table, the number of the teeth of the said wheel corresponding with the number of
mould boxes in the table so that for each rotation of shaft with its levers the
table will be moved the distance necessary to take one mould box y from beneath
the box o and to place the next succeeding mould box in position for filling.
It is to be understood that the gear wheels s, s' must be so proportioned that
for each complete movement of the plunger p the shaft also makes one
rotation.
In order to lock the table c during the time that the lever is out of engage-
ment with the wheel I provide the locking catch t pivotted at t¹ to the pillar of
the machine and adapted at one end to engage in notches formed between lugs or
teeth upon the wheels whilst the other end of the said lever is adapted to
be acted upon by a cam t³ upon the shaft, the said cam being so shaped that just
as the levers is engaging with the wheels it will move the catch t out of engagement
with the luge t' and hold the said catch in this position until the lever is again
out of engagement with the wheel st.
u, u are supports for the table, the said supports having rollers u', u' at their
unner enda:

page_text: v, are arms for carrying the pallet boards r' onto which the bricks are
delivered. These arms v, v which are connected together so as to move in unison
are pivotted at to the upper end of a bracket and have arranged in conjunction
with them weighted levers, which normally tend to retain the arms v, o in the
position shewn in full lines in Figure 1. Immediately however that a brick is
delivered onto the board ' carried by the said arms the weights upon the levers v², vt
are overbalanced so that the said arms carrying the pallet board and brick move
down to the position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1 in which position a
travelling band w driven by pulleys w¹ and a belt w from the driving shaft e and
which is of such width that it will run between the arms v, v, takes the pallet board
with the brick thereon from the said arms and conveys it away. The arms being
thus relieved of weight are again moved back by the weighted levers o* into
position to receive another brick.
y is a shoot or slide upon which a number of pallet boards are placed. In
order that the arms o, v after delivering a brick and moving back into position shall
take a pallet board I attach to the free ends of the arms v, v pivotted fingers y', y¹.
During the downward movement of the arms v to deliver a brick these fingers
strike the lowermost board v' upon the slide y but yield so that they do not impede
the movement of the arms v, v. On the return movement of the said arms, however,
the fingers y', y come into contact with the lower board o' upon the slide y and
lift the same therefrom, the said board during the continued upward movement
of the arms v, v sliding into position ready to receive another brick.
z is a sanding box which is arranged in such a position that when shaken it will
cause the mould box g beneath it to be sanded. As shown in Figure 5 this sanding
box is arranged in conjunction with one end of a lever z pivotted at ** and adapted
at its other end to be struck by a pin upon the driving shaft e in such a manner
as to cause the shaking of the sieve. In practice two of such sanding boxes are
advantageously employed, viz., one for sanding the surface of the moulded brick
before it is lifted from the mould and the other for sanding the mould before it is
again filled with clay or pug.
The operation of the apparatus herein before described is as follows:-Assume
the parts to be in the position shown in Figure 1 and the space beneath the plunger p
in the box o be full of clay. When now the shaft e is rotated the said plunger p
will be forced down to press the clay into the mould box g beneath it and by the
time that the pressure is complete the cam has moved to such a position as to force
the knife g to cut off the clay above the surface of the table. When this is done
the shaft has turned so far as to move the catch t out of engagement with the
lugs and to bring the lever into engagement with the wheels to move the table
round sufficiently to bring an empty mould box beneath the plunger p. The
knife is then moved back by the cam 7 and the plunger p is moved downwards to
again fill the mould. By the time that an empty mould box has moved beneath the
plunger the sliding frame of another mould box with a brick thereon is lifted by
the cam bar m to deliver the brick onto the pallet board carried by the arme
as hereinbefore described. At the next movement of the table the plate which
carried the brick last discharged is moved downwards within the box and so on
it being understood that at each movement of the table one mould box is filled and
the brick in another mould box discharged.
Although I have described my invention as applied to a machine for moulding
bricks it is to be understood that it may also be used for manufacturing tiles and
the like the mould boxes being aranged to suit the articles to be produced.
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.) In a machine for making bricks, tiles and the like, the combination with an
intermittently rotated table, of a series of mould boxes in each of which is a sliding
frame carrying a hinged or pivotted plate forming the bottom of the mould and

page_text: which is adapted at certain intervals to be lifted and tilted in order to deliver a
moulded brick, substantially as described.
(2.) In a brick making machine having an intermittently rotated table provided
with a series of mould boxes containing movable hinged plates, a box containing a
compressing piston or plunger and between the bottom of which and the table a
knife is adapted to slide, substantially as described.
(3.) In a brick making machine having an intermittently rotating table provided
with a series of brick moulds and means substantially as described for discharging
the bricks from the said moulds, mechanism for receiving the bricks and conveying
them away, substantially as described.
(4.) The improved machine for making bricks, tiles and the like 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.
Dated the 25th day of July 1892.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.