CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES FROM CLAY, AND OTHER PLASTIC SUBSTANCES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
AINSLIE, of Alperton, in the County of Middlesex, Brick and Tile Manu-
facturer, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain-
and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Thirty-first day of March, in
the year One thousand eight hundred and forty-six, in the ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Ainslie, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her. special
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Ainslie,
my executors, administrators, and assigns; and such others as I, the said John
Ainslie, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland called England, the Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, and also in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad,
my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES FROM CLAY, AND
OTHER PLASTIC SUBSTANCES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a
proviso, obliging me, the said John Ainslie, within the space of six calendar
..

page_text: months from the date of the said grant, by a writing under my hand and
seal, enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery, particularly to
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, as by the said Letters Patent, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Ainslie, do hereby declare that the nature of my. said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and ascertained
by the following statement and Drawings hereto annexed :-
In the manufacture of bricks, tiles, and similar articles from clay and other
plastic substances, it is of great importance that the materials should be well
ground together, mixed and equalized in consistency. By the pug mill now
generally used for the purpose the clay and other materials are in most cases
very irregularly prepared, having to pass or be pressed between a series of
knives placed horizontally upon an upright shaft at certain distances apart,
and in some cases also upon the inside of the box or barrel surrounding the
shaft, consequently any irregularity that may exist in the clay or other
materials is liable to be passed through the mill without being properly
equalized; the knives only cutting or dividing the clay or other material
instead of grinding, mixing, and thoroughly amalgamating it so as to
equalize the whole and render it throughout of as much as possible one
uniform consistency. Now the object of one part of my Invention is, so to
divide and subdivide every part of the clay or other material, crushing at the
same time all stones, roots, and other substances that would be injurious to the
manufacture, that the mass may be of as uniform a consistency as possible;
and this I effect in the following manner :-I provide a circular cast-iron pan
with a conical bottom, that is, with a bottom inclined or sloping from the
centre to the periphery at any suitable angle, as seen at A, Fig. 1, Sheet I., of
the annexed Drawings. Upon the bottom of this pan I place a series of
edge rollers of various thicknesses with rounded edges revolving on a shaft
attached to an upright shaft turning in the centre of the pan, as seen at B,
Fig. 2. If the space L in Fig. 2 be supplied with the materials to be ground
and mixed, and motion be given to the upright shaft by horse or other power,
the rollers E and F will move round upon the pan at different velocities, thus
causing the materials to be driven towards the periphery of the pan. It will
be seen on referring to the annexed Drawings that the rollers F are placed
opposite the spaces between the rollers E, so that the materials which escape
from under the rollers E come immediately in contact with the rollers F
successively, thereby dividing, crushing, and thoroughly mixing all the

page_text: materials in the pan. The materials so mixed up are delivered through
openings in the bottom of the pan.
Figure 1 is a ground plan. A, the cast-iron pan upon which the rollers
revolve. B, the step or bearing for the upright shaft. C, the upright shaft.
5D, the openings for letting out the prepared materials; the arrows shew the
course or circuit of the rollers E, enclosed in red lines; the rollers F, in
black lines. G, the brackets that support the framework H, in which the
upright shaft turns.
Figure 2 is a section on A, B, Fig. 1. A, A, the cast-iron pan with a
> conical bottom. B, the step in which the upright shaft C turns. D, the
horizontal shaft upon which the rollers E and F revolve. E and F are the
two sets of rollers. G, the brackets that support the framing H, in which
the upright shaft turns. I, the cap in which the driving shaft K is placed,
.when worked by horse power. L, the space where the machine is fed. M is
an opening in the upright shaft C, through which the horizontal shaft passes,
of sufficient size to allow it to rise and fall. N, a shield attached to the
upright shaft to prevent the clay getting into the step B. O, the opening
in the bottom of the pan, through which the prepared materials pass.
A chamber or box may be formed under the openings in the bottom of the
pan, in front of which may be placed suitable machinery for the manufacture
of bricks, tiles, or other articles of the materials which have been ground up
by the mill, as shewn at P, Fig. 1 and 2.
Having now fully described the above-mentioned part of my Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that I do not
claim as my Invention the using of a pair of edge rollers for grinding materials,
being fully aware that edge rollers have been used for a number of years for
such purposes. But what I do claim is, the combination of a series of rollers
of various thicknesses, moving at different velocities upon a conical bottom,
and the application thereof to the grinding and compounding of clay or other
plastic substances for the manufacture of bricks, tiles, and other articles, as
above described.
I will now proceed to describe that part of my Invention relating to the
machinery or apparatus for the manufacture of bricks, by forming or moulding
them.
Fig. 1, Sheet II., A, B, C, D, are four rollers placed in such a position
in a frame that the space L between them should be of the size and shape of
the brick required to be made. On one end of each shaft of the rollers
A and B are fixed two spur wheels of equal diameters in gear with each
other, and on the shaft of the roller A is fixed two mitre wheels I and K

page_text: (one at each end of the roller A), and gearing into two other mitre wheels
G and H, fixed on the shafts of the rollers C and D. On-reference to
the Drawing it will be seen that by this arrangement of wheels on the
shafts of the rollers A, B, C, D; if power. be applied to either of the
shafts of the rollers A and B, that all the rollers will move at the same
time, at the same velocity, and in the direction indicated by the arrows.
N, N, N, N, are the scrapers or ductors attached to the frame, for the
purpose of cleaning the rollers and guiding the moulded article on to a
'series of rollers on an endless web. On the opposite side of the machine is
an endless web (supported by a series of rollers) upon which the clay is
placed to feed the machine. The cutting apparatus consist of an iron frame,
across which are stretched two or more wires. The distance between the
'wires must be the length, thickness, or breadth of the brick. This frame
moves up and down, and is guided by two or more upright rods sliding freely
upon two horizontal rods, fixed one on each side of the frame that supports
the rollers in front of the machine. When the bricks are cut they are
removed by the lifter, which is made of.three pieces of. wood covered with
cloth on the inside, the two ends being hinged to the side, as shewn in the
'Drawing. When it is required to make a hollow or indent in the brick, it
may be done in the following manner:-I.stretch a wire across the ends of
two levers, projecting through an opening in the side of the lifter, and made
to move in a circular direction by a lever attached to each end, as seen in the
Drawings, or by bevil wheels, or such indent may be made by a projection
of the required form on the surface of the rollers.
Fig. 1, Sheet II:, is a front elevation. A, B, C, D, are the four rollers;
E and F are the two spur wheels of equal diameter; G, H, I, and K are
the four mitre wheels; M; M, M, M, the framing.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation, shewing the cutting apparatus and feeding frame.
E, F, the spur wheels; M, M; the framing; A, B, C, the rollers; N, N, the
feeding frame; O, the frame of front rollers; P; the horizontal guide rods of
cutting frame; Q, the upright guide rods; R is the frame, across which the
'cutting wires are stretched..
Fig. 3 is a section through C, D, Fig. 2. B, C, D, are the rollers;
M, M, M, M, the framing; F, the spur wheel; N, the feeding web; O, the
front rollers; P, P, the horizontal guide rods or cutting frame; Q, Q, the
perpendicular guide rods of cutting frame; R, the cutting frame; S; S, S,
the scrapers or ductors. (The projections on the rollers for framing the
indent or hollow in the side of the brick are shewn by the letters T, T,
Fig. 1 and 4.)

page_text: Fig. 4 is a section through A, B, Fig. 1. A, B, C, D, the rollers; V, V, V, V,
are the shafts; E, F, the spur wheels; G, H, I, K, the mitre wheels;
M, M, M, M, the framing.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the brick lifter. A, the side; B, B, the
ends; C, the opening in the side for cutting out the hollow or indent; D, D,
the brackets that hold the levers E, E, across which the wire F is stretched;
G and H the levers for moving the cutter by the act of closing the ends
B, B, immediately before lifting the brick..
Having now described the nature of this part of my Invention of improve-
ments in machinery or apparatus for the manufacture of bricks, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that what
I claim as of my Invention in respect thereof, is,-
First, the use of a series of rollers placed in such a position as to form the
mould for the brick, and moving simultaneously in such a manner that the
bricks shall be formed by their revolutions.
Secondly, the lifter, for the purpose of lifting the brick and cutting out the
indent or hollow immediately before lifting it, when such indent is not formed
by a projection on the rollers.
The remaining part of my Invention relates to the arrangements and con-
struction of the drying chambers and kilns for burning tiles, bricks, and
articles of clay and other plastic substances, so as to save and husband the
heat, which is now lost in kilns of the ordinary construction, and to apply
the heat saved from the burning or drying of one kiln and chamber, or one
set of kilns and chambers, to the burning and drying of another kiln and
chamber, or of another set of kilns and chambers. For this purpose I crect
the kilns in sets (of about six or eight generally) so constructed and arranged
relatively to each other as to enable me to cause the heat generated in the
first to pass into the second, and thence into the third of such kilns.previous
to its entering the common chimney, so that when the articles in the first
kiln shall have been sufficiently burnt, those in the second will have been
more or less advanced towards the same state, while those in the third will
have acquired a comparatively high temperature, by means of that heat only
which, in the usual mode of burning bricks and other articles, would have
escaped uselessly into the atmosphere. The bricks in the first kiln having
been sufficiently burnt, I extinguish the fire in the first kiln and kindle the
fire in the second kiln, and the surplus heat so generated in the second kiln
is made to pass into the third and fourth kilns previous to entering the
chimney. In this way I proceed by a succession of similar operations, always
employing the surplus heat of one kiln for the purpose of heating at least a

page_text: second and third kiln to a great degree, by means of that which would otherwise
be lost. Attached to each kiln is a drying shed, for the purpose of drying the
newly-made articles previous to the same being burnt. These drying sheds
are so arranged as to be acted upon in succession, not by the passing stream
of fire, but by the heat supplied from the newly-burnt articles in each kiln
in succession.
Annexed on Sheets III. and IV. are plans and sections of such kilns and
sheds, arranged as I have thus generally described, accompanied by the necessary
explanatory references; and it will be seen that kilns so constructed and
connected will not only promote economy in fuel, but that the heat in the
several parts of each kiln will be so distributed that an almost uniform tempe-
rature will be obtained, so that while no one brick or other article will be over-
burnt, each and all will be burnt enough, while at the same time the heating
process by this system of connection may be so graduated that scarcely one
brick or other article will be found less sound when burnt than when first
placed in the kiln.
I will now proceed to describe the annexed plans and sections on Sheets III.
and IV., in which Fig. 1 is a ground plan of the furnaces. A, A, A, are the furnace
bars; B, B, the place for firing; C, C, C, C, C, the passages leading to the
dampers.
Fig. 2 is a ground plan of the flues. D, D, D, D, D, D, are the flues in con-
nection. The arrows shew the direction of the current of heated air in action.
Fig. 3 is a plan of the flues covered as at work, shewing the upright flues,
and the air chambers in the walls. E, E, E, E, E, E, the floors of kilns or
ovens; F, F, F, F, F, F, are the air chambers; G, G, G, G, G, G, are the
upright flues; H, H, H, H, H, I, are the openings into the bottom flues on
cach side; I, I, I, are the hoppers for the coals; J, J, J, J, J; J, are the
drying houses in connection with the kilns or ovens; K, K, K, K, K, K, are
the central furnaces.
Fig. 4 is a section on A, B, Fig. 3, shewing the furnaces in action, and in
connection with the drying houses. L, L, are the ashpits; M, M, are the
furnace bars; N, N, are the stoke holes, or the places for firing; 0, 0,
interior of kilns or ovens ; P, P, are the doors for filling and emptying them;
Q, Q, Q, Q, are openings for allowing the air to pass from the kiln into the
drying houses R, R. The arrows S, S, shew the circulation of the hot air
from the top of the kilns through the drying houses, and the arrows T, T, T,
shew the direction of the air passing from the drying houses. U, the upright
flue leading into the main shaft or chimney V; W, the damper on the upright
flue, open as at work.

page_text: Fig. 5 is a section on C, D, Fig. 3. A, A, are the connecting flues;
B, B, B, B, B, B, are the upright flues; C, C, the main canal leading to the
upright shaft or chimney D; E, E, E, the dampers or flues not in action;
F, F, the air chambers.
Fig. 6 is a section on E, F, Fig. 3. G, G, G, are the ashpits; H, H, H,
the furnace bars; I, I, I, the furnaces; J, J, the passage to dampers; K, K,
the dampers; L, L, the connecting flues; M, M, M, the kilns or ovens.
The arrows shew the heated air going from one kiln to the other. N, N, N, N,
are air chambers surrounding each kiln, for the purpose of preventing, as much
as possible, the passage of the heat through the walls, it being well known that
a film of air is a good non-conductor of heat.
Fig. 7 is the side elevation. 0, 0, 0, the furnace doors; P, P, P, doors
into kilns; Q, Q, the passage to dampers; R, R, R, R, R, R, are openings
for the passage of the air into the drying sheds; S, S, S, the dampers on the
upright flues, as seen at E, E, F, Fig. 5.
I will now proceed to describe the working of the kilns in connection with
oach other and the drying sheets. First, the kilns Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are sup-
posed to be filled with bricks, tiles, or other articles to be burned; and
Nos. 4, 5, and 6 are supposed to be in progress of cooling, filling, and
emptying. The fire is then lighted in No. 1, and the heated air ascends to the
top of the kiln, spreads itself, and descends into the flue below the bottom or
floor of kilns, and passes on into No. 2, as seen at L, Fig. 6. It then circu-
lates in like manner into No. 3, from thence into the flue leading to the
chimney. When. No. 1 is sufficiently burned, the communication from it to
No. 2 is stopped by a damper being placed across the flue, as seen at K,
Fig. 6. The fire is then lighted in No. 2, and the communication is opened
between Nos. 3 and 4, and so on in the same way to Nos. 5 and 6, till the
whole circuit is completed, always, however, taking care that only the last of
the series in action communicates with the chimney, all other communication
with the chimney being shut off. When the first kiln is finished, the heat
which would ordinarily be lost on the opening and cooling of the kiln is made
to circulate through the drying sheds Nos. 1, 2, and 3, successively. By this
means the heat of the kilns may be applied to drying the tiles, bricks, or other
articles; and when sufficiently dried the communication between the drying
houses is to be stopped, and the articles removed to the kiln to be burnt.
By the arrangements just described, when the kilns and drying sheds are in full
operation, the drying in the sheds will be gradual, and the steam generated by
the evaporation of the moisture from the articles drying being retained in the
passage through the sheds or drying houses in succession, the articles will be

page_text: dried uniformly throughout. The quantity and temperature of air required for
the purposes of drying the articles placed in the sheds is regulated by the
valves which are placed in the openings at the top and bottom of the kiln, as
shewn at Fig. 4. When particular articles are to be baked or burned,
requiring an intense heat without flame, I place a tube or flue in the centre of
each kiln or oven, made of fire clay or fire bricks, and an additional casing or
chamber inside, as shewn at Fig. 8. A, A, A, are the furnaces; B, B, B, are
the furnace bars; C, C, C, the ashpits; D, D, D, the central flues or tubes;
E, E, E, E, E, are chambers to allow the circulation of the flame; F, F, F, F, F,
the additional casing or chamber; G, G, the connecting flues. The arrows
shew the current of the heat passing on from one kiln to another, as before
described in Figures 1, 2, and 3. It will be obvious that one chamber or kiln-
constructed in the manner represented in Fig. 6 of the set of kilns herein-
before described may be used for burning bricks and other articles, a chimney
being placed on any of the sides, and in connection with the bottom flue, by
which the heat is withdrawn instead of escaping at the top as in ordinary
kilns; but in this case the same degree of economy will not be obtained as by
the use of two or more kilns in connection with each other.
Having now described the nature of the said last-mentioned part of my
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I hereby declare
that I do not claim any particular form, size, or dimensions of kilns, or the
details of the construction, inasmuch as the form, size, and dimensions may be
varied according to circumstances, and the kilns and passages may be built of
any materials, or in any manner adapted for retaining, husbanding, and
applying the heat, as above described. But I do claim, as part of the Inven-
tion intended to be secured by the said Letters Patent, the arrangement and
construction of kilns and drying chambers herein-before described, whereby
two or more kilns or chambers may be worked in connection with each other,
so as to husband and apply the surplus heat of one kiln and chamber in the
manufacture of bricks, tiles, and other articles, situated in another kiln or
chamber in connection with it. Also I claim the peculiar construction and
arrangement of a kiln, as shewn in Fig. 6, whereby the heat is admitted and
conveyed away at the bottom, so as to ensure a uniformity of heat throughout
in the manufacture of bricks, tiles, and other articles.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Anslic, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Thirtieth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-six.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirtieth day of September, in
the tenth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said John
Ainslie came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and
acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing therein con-
tained 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 of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.
Inrolled the Thirtieth day of September, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-six.