CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHINA AND EARTHENWARE, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MACHINERY APPLICABLE THERETO
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
RIDGWAY, of Cauldon Place, in the County of Stafford, China Manufacturer,
and GEORGE WALL the younger, of the same place, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Eleventh day of January, in the third year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said John
Ridgway and George Wall, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that we, the said John Ridgway and George Wall, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, and such others as we, the said John Ridgway
and George Wall, our exccutors, administrators, and assigns, should agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England and Wales and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our
Invention of CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CHINA AND
EARTHENWARE, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MACHINERY APPLICABLE THERETO;" in
which Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we, the said John Ridgway
and George Wall, shall cause a particular description of the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be enrolled in
Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in

page_text: and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
.appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
John Ridgway and George Wall, do hereby declare that the nature of our
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is
particularly described and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed,
and the following explanation thereof (that is to say): :-
Our Improvements in the Manufacture of China and Earthenware, and in
the Apparatus or Machinery applicable thereto, consist in employing a pan of
ordinary double moulds or dies, that is, exterior and interior, for forming the
articles of manufacture, and pressing such moulds or dies together to complete
the operation by means of self-acting machinery, to be actuated by steam or
other power. The principal object of this Invention is to perform the several
processes of feeding the press, closing the dies to form the article to be
manufactured, and removing or delivering the moulds containing the articles
so formed, by means of self-acting machinery or apparatus, instead of manual
labor. But, in order that our improvements may be more fully explained, we
have attached to these Presents a Sheet of Drawings, representing several
views of a machine adapted for such purposes, and drawn about one eighth the
real size, Figure 1 being a side elevation, Figure 2 a top or horizontal view, as
seen from above, and Figure 3 a front or end elevation of the same, the
whole of which are marked with letters of reference, similar letters being
placed upon corresponding parts of the mechanism in all the Figures. The
main framing or side standards are shewn at a, a, a, supporting the press or
head framing b, b, b. The main or driving shaft c, c, is mounted in a frame
a, a, carrying the driving pullies d, d, the fly wheel e, and also the driving
pinions ff. Conducting or tension rollers g, g, are also supported by the main
framing, and another tension roller h is supported by a bracket at any suitable
distance. The rollers gand h are for the purpose of conducting the feeding or
delivering strap or band i, i, which carries the pair of moulds or dies h, k,
through the machine. The head framing b, b, is furnished with planed parallel
sides 1, 1, for the press table m to rise and fall in, and also with the set screw n,
for the purpose of adjusting the press head o, and thus regulating the pressure
upon the moulds or dies k, k, the press head o or the press table m being
furnished, if necessary, with springs, to give elasticity to the pressure. A cross
shaft p is also mounted in the head framing b, b, which carries at its end the
toothed wheel gearing with one of the driving pinions f, and thus actuating
?
the cam or excentric r, which is keyed upon the middle of the shaft P, and as
it revolves acts against a projections upon the under side of the press table m.

page_text: The general construction of the apparatus being now explained in detail, the
operation of the same is as follows:--Supposing power to be applied from a
steam engine or other mover by means of a strap being passed around the
fast pulley or in any other convenient manner, and a pair of moulds or dies
as aforesaid placed upon the feeding strap i, i, with a bat of clay between
them, one of the driving pinions f will actuate the spur wheel t upon the
smaller cross shaft u, and thus, by means of the crank and connecting
rod w, vibrate the radial arm a, which, being connected with the carrier
picce y, will slide it along the two guide rods, , and cause the catch
wheels 1, 1, to strike against the stops 2, 2, upon the strap i, and thus turn
the catch wheel one fourth of a revolution, when the hooked catches upon it
will pull against the stops, and as the sliding carrier y, y, returns by the next
vibration of the arm a, will thus cause the strap i, i, to advance a certain
distance until the moulds k, k, are brought exactly under the centre of the.
press, when the pin or catch escapes from the stop upon the strap i, and thus
leaves it stationary. At this time the excentric part of the cam r will arrive
at the perpendicular, and, by acting against the projection s upon the under
side of the table m, thus force the table upwards, giving the requisite pressure
to the mould k, l, and cause the clay between them to be impressed with the.
form or shape required. After the pressure has been performed the strap
again advances as before, and conducts the moulds, with the article thus formed,
into the room to be properly dried and finished. It will be evident that, as
the driving parts continue to revolve, the alternate operation of feeding in the
moulds properly supplied with clay, pressing them to form the article of
manufacture, and removing them from the machine, will thus be successively
performed.
Having now particularly described the nature of our said Invention, and the
manner of carrying the same into practical operation, we desire it to be under-
stood that we do not intend to confine ourselves to the precise form, dimensions,
or materials of which any or all of the parts are composed; but we claim as
our Invention such improvements in the manufacture of earthenware, and
in the apparatus or machinery applicable thereto, as have been above particu-
larly described and set forth in the accompanying Drawing, whereby a pair
of dies or moulds for shaping or forming the article to be produced are fed
into the machine, impressed with the figure or shape, and afterwards removed
from the press by means of self-acting mechanism instead of manual labor,
without being confined to the precise mode shewn in the Drawing, as it will
be perfectly evident to the practical engineer that any modification or

page_text: may require.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Ridgway and George Wall, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fourth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty.
JOHN (L.S.) RIDGWAY.
GEORGE (L.S.) WALL, Jun'.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourth day of July, in the
fourth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said John
Ridgway came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and i
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein
contained and specified, in form above written. And also the Instru-
ment aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made
in the fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourth day of July, in the
fourth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said George
Wall came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknow-
ledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained
and specified, in form above written. And also the Instrument aforesaid
was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made in the fifty-fifth year a
of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Tenth day of July, One thousand eight hundred and
forty