Improvements in Machinery for Pressing Bricks and other Blocks.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd May, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Mar., 1898-Accepted, 9th Apr., 1898
Improvements in Machinery for Pressing Bricks and other Blocks.
I, FRANCIS JOHNSON, 18, Salisbury Grove, Armley, Leeds, in the County of
York, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in machinery for pressing bricks out of
clay and other materials by the semidry process.
The object of the said invention is to construct a press for the above purpose
with a minimum of friction, and wear and tear. Also to construct the various
parts appertaining to the press easy of access, and adapted for being quickly
changed and adjusted to the various requirements of brick making machines,
namely, such as the changing of the brick moulds, and altering the thickness of
the bricks. Also the quantity of clay in the moulds and other improvements
hereinafter described.
In order to carry out the improvements indicated, I construct a brick press
on the toggle principle. This consists of two strong vertical rods, mounted at
the top end with powerful toggles, which act both on a press-head carrying the
top plungers and a strong horizontal bar carrying the bottom plungers. The
toggles are actuated by a crank and connecting rod, mounted in bearings on a
suitable frame. On the end of the crank shaft a strong toothed wheel is keyed
driven from a pinion, which is keyed to a thaft, provided with a second toothed
wheel, driven from a pinion on the pulley shaft. The power is therefore imparted
from the pulley to the toothed gearing and crank shaft which imparts motion, to
the toggles which act on the top press head, and vertical rods, causing the top
and bottom plungers to approach each other inside the moulds and thereby give
pressure to the material therein. The pressure being greatest when the toggles and
vertical reds are in a straight line one with the other. For purposes of easy access
I place the vertical rods outside of the framework of the machine one on each side.
The clay or other material is fed to the moulds by means of a skeleton feed box
having no bottom. The motion of this box is actuated by suitable cams and levers
from the crank shaft.
In order to avoid the clay being pressed too tight in the feed box due from the
pressure of the clay in the hopper above, I construct the feed box with an inner
ledge or flange all the way round the top part, so that the section of the metal
would appear like the letter L upside down. This improvement keeps the clay
loose in the feed box and prevents clogging also allowing it to fall more readily
in the moulds when the feed box passes over them.
The hopper of the machine which supplies the feed box with clay is made in two
or more sections which enables it to be easily reduced or enlarged in size of outlet,
to suit the requirements of the feed. This also helps to prevent the clay from
clugging in the feed box.
The bricks when pressed are lifted to the top of the moulds by the bottom
plungers, and this is effected by suitable cams, which are fixed to a wheel on each

page_text: side of the framework placed directly under the top end of the vertical rods. The
cams are in contact with large runners mounted on a shaft which passes through
both vertical rods and projects out from each rod. The wheels to which the cams
are fixed, or form part, are mounted on strong studs projecting outwards from the
frame side, and are driven by a pair of wheels of the same diameter keyed to the
crank shaft. As the cams revolve and come in contact with the runners mounted
on the shaft passing through the vertical rods, it raises or lowers the said rods
according to the shape of the face of the cams in contact. These being of suitable
shape for imparting vertical movement to the rods when required.
The bottom plungers are also supported independent from the bottom pressure
bar. The reason for this is to enable the depth of the moulds wherein the bricks
are pressed to be altered without interfering with the bottom pressure bar. To
effect this I suspend the plungers from two levers fixed to a shaft mounted in
suitable bearings. This shaft is also provided with a central lever pointing in
an opposite direction to the other levers. This central lever is also provided with a
pivoted socket on the outer end, and through the said socket I pass a suitable.
spindle screwed on the upper part. The spindle is supported from the top by a
loose joint, which enables the spindle to adopt itself to any angle occupied by the
central lever, and the pivot to allways remain concentric with the spindle. The
screwed part of the spindle is supplied with a hand wheel which can be screwed
up and down as required. When it is required to alter the depth of the moulds
the hand wheel is set to the required position on the spindle which determines
the position the central lever can reach owing to the pivoted socket coming in
contact with a boss on the hand wheel. When the central lever is in this position
the plungers have reached their bottom position and could not fall lower without
the hand wheel being raised along the spindle.
The bottom plungers are carried to their top position only by the bottom
pressure
bar which is lifted by the vertical rods actuated by the cam motion hereinbefore
mentioned. The central lever and pivoted socket being free to slide down along
the screwed spindle when the plungers are moving up. The plungers usually
drop down to their bottom position by their own weight, but in order to prevent
them being held up in the moulds by friction or other causes I propose fixing
suitable rods or springs to the bottom pressure bar for dragging the same down.
The brick moulds are usually formed in a strong table fixed between the frames
of the machine. The sides of the moulds being lined with steel or cast iron plates
screwed to the sides of the table. This method of construction makes it difficult
to renew them without a great deal of trouble and expense. In my invention each
mould consists of a separate box the inside being made to the size of bricks
required, and two of the outer sides are planed taper with a central channel made of
suitable width and depth for accurately fitting a projecting spigott formed in the
table. The table is provided with a loose front and by removing this is ready for
receiving the mould boxes. The front is then bolted in its place to keep the mould
boxes from moving. I may also find it necessary to provide the mould boxes with
one or more screws for drawing the same out or forcing them into their places.
The thickness of the brick to be pressed is regulated by altering the position of
the top plungers. These are fixed to the top press head which is connected by a
pin to the bottom part of the pressure toggle. The said pin is mounted in a strong
rectangular block let into an elongated hole in the press-head, and kept in position
vertically by a powerful screw let into the top and bottom of the press head. By
moving the said screws the block can be raised or lowered, and the distance
between the faces of the top and bottom plungers set as required, this distance being
the thickness of brick pressed.
As a modification of the method hereinbefore described of suspending the bottom
plungers for altering the depth of the moulds, I may in light machines apply this
directly to the bottom pressure bar by suspending the bar instead of the plungers,
allowing a vertical movement to this bar by slotting the vertical rods. By this
.method the bottom plungers would allways rest on the bar, which would be an

page_text: advantage because it would prevent the possibility of any dirt getting between the
plungers and the bar, and thereby reducing the thickness of bricks pressed.
The extreme pressure is put on the brick in the mould when the toggles are
in a straight line. The least deviation from the straight line towards the oblique
removes the extreme pressure thereby allowing only a very short space of time
for the extreme pressure to remain on the brick. In order to hold the extreme
pressure longer on the brick, I propose slotting the bearing in the toggles which
also carry the connecting rod pin, so that when the crank has passed the dead
centre, and is returning to remove the pressure I cause the said pin to travel a
given distance in the slot before having any effect towards removing the pressure.
By keeping the extreme pressure on the brick a longer time it gives more facilities
for the escape of any air contained in the material and otherwise makes a sounder
and smoother faced brick.
I, FRANCIS JOHNSON, Engineer, 18, Salisbury Grove, Armley, Leeds, in the
County of York, 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 machinery for pressing bricks or
blocks out of clay and other materials by the semi-dry or granular process. The
object of which is to construct a press and the various parts appertaining to the
same easy of access throughout and adapted for being quickly changed and adjusted
for the various requirements of brick making machines.
In order to more fully describe the improvements in my invention reference is
made to the accompanying drawings.
(Fig. 1) is a sectional elevation through the centre of the machine.
(Fig. 2) is a plan of the machine.
(Fig. 3) is a view of the lifting motion for pressure rods.
Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the hopper.
Fig. 5 a plan of the same.
The parts forming the press proper consist of the vertical pressure rods (A)
Fig. 1 mounted at the top end with the toggles B and C connected to the press-
head D carrying the top plungers E and the bottom pressure bar G supporting the
bottom plungers H. The top toggle B is mounted on the pin I which passes
through the whole width of the toggle and also the pressure rods A. The middle
pin J joins the two toggles B and C together, and also forms a bearing for the
front end of the connecting rod K. The pin L joins the bottom part of the toggle C
to the press-head D. The toggles are actuated by the crank M and connecting
rod K. The crank is turned by the wheels N keyed on each side of the crank
shaft. The wheels N are geared to the pinion O on the intermediate shaft P and
the wheel Q which is also keyed on the shaft P is geared to the pinion R on the
pulley shaft S. The pulleys being driven by a belt in the ordinary way.
As the crank M revolves it imparts vertical motion to the press-head D) by
means of the connecting rod and toggles B and C causing the top plunger E to
enter the moulds T and approach within a given distance to the bottom plunger H.
This distance being the least and therefore the pressure at its maximum when the

page_text: toggles are in a straight line with the pressure rods A. This distance being the
actual thickness of the brick when pressed.
The pressure rods A. are provided with a runner U Fig. 3 mounted on the studs V
screwed into the pressure rods. The runners U are supported on the cams W
fixed to the wheels X Fig. 1 gearing into the wheels N on the crank shaft. The
said cams Ware of a suitable shape as hereinafter described for a given purpose.
The bottom plungers besides being supported on the pressure bar G are also
suspended on the shaft Y carried on the ends of the levers Z. The levers Z are
fixed to the shaft A¹ mounted in the main frames of the machine. The shaft A¹
is also provided with a central lever B¹ keyed firmly to the said shaft and the outer
end of which is provided with a swivel socket C¹ engaging the screw VI slung from
the beam D¹ fixed to the frame work and fitted with a hand wheel O¹. The boss
of which is screwed to fit the screw V₁.
The material to be fed into the moulds of the machine is carried in the feed
box E which receives a reciprocating motion from the cams F1 by means of the
levers G and H¹ and the links I. The levers G₁ and H¹ are fixed to the shaft J¹
mounted on the bearings K'.
The action of the machine in pressing bricks is as follows. The feed box E¹
having received its charge of clay from the hopper L' is actuated by the cams F1
and placed over the moulds T where it remains stationary for a short time. During
this interval the runners U are released by the cams W allowing the pressure
rods A along with the toggles, the top and bottom plungers press-head and also
bottom pressure bar to drop suddenly a given distance regulated by the shape of the
cams W. The distance dropped is sufficient to allow the top plungers to pass
through the feed box E whilst stationary and enter the moulds T a certain
distance depending on the density of the clay in the said moulds. This drop
motion insures the clay in the feed box being forced in the moulds. The cams W
are now made to engage the runners U again and lift the pressure rods and also
the top plungers slightly above the feed box and allow the feed box to be with-
drawn from the moulds to the hopper again. The pressure rods A are supported
in this position by means of the cams W whilst the top plungers descend a second
time in the moulds to put the full pressure on the brick. The descent of the
top plungers into the moulds the second time does not depend on the pressure rods
being lowered also, but to the straightening of the toggles B and C. The first
time the top plungers enter the moulds the toggles are in their most oblique
position and therefore a good way above the top of the moulds which makes it
necessary to lower the pressure rods A in order to let the plungers down. The
cams W at the same time as the brick is receiving its maximum pressure or if
necessary either sooner or later engage the runners U and lift the pressure rods
sufficiently high to bring the top face of the bottom plungers and the brick level
with the top of the moulds. The feed box being timed on its forward stroke towards
the moulds to come in contact with the bricks in this position and push them to the
front of the table and at the same time refill the moulds for the
pressing.
process of
The connecting rod K Fig. 1 which imparts motion to the toggles consists of a
bearing N mounted on the crank pin and fixed on the two parallel rods K by
nuts. The front bearing or bush P₁ which is mounted on the centre pin J apper-
taining to the toggle is let on to the two parallel rods K similar to the bearing N
but instead of being firmly fixed in one position a space is left between the bush
and the collars Q¹ to allow the connecting rod being moved a certain distance before
imparting any movement to the bush P. By this construction of connecting rod
the toggles are allowed to remain at rest a short time before being deflected, and as
the toggles in this position are exerting their greatest pressure on the clay in the
moulds this pressure remains on the brick during a longer or shorter interval
according to the distance between the bush P₁ and the collars Q.
In order to describe the use of the cams W reference is made to Fig. 3. The
cams occupy this position under the pressure rods A and the bottom plungers H

page_text: aro in their highest position, and the top plungers are well above the feed box E.
It will be seen by the configuration of the cams W that as they revolve in the
direction of the arrow they will pass from under the runners U and allow the
pressure rods to drop and the top plungers to enter the moulds, and as
the cams W continue to revolve they will again raise the runners U and likewise the
pressure rods A with the parts connected therewith to the surface W where the
runners will rest for an interval. In this position of the cams the bottom plungers
will have raised the clay slightly above the top of the moulds and the feed box
will return towards the hopper and at the same time cut off the surplus clay above
the moulds by means of the knife M' fixed on the front part of the bottom of the
feed box E Fig. 3. The top plungers will also during this interval descend into
the moulds as soon as the feed box is sufficiently far back and press the bricks to
their required thickness. As the bricks receive their maximum pressure the
cams W commence to lift the runners U again and in completing their revolution
raise the vertical rods and plungers to the position shewn on the diagram Fig. 3.
In order to regulate the quantity of material in the moulds T the bottom
plungers are as herein before described suspended independently from the bottom
pressure bar G, on the shaft Y carried by the lever Z Fig. 1. These levers can be
actuated for raising or lowering the bottom plungers by the hand wheel O' acting
on the screw on the central lever B¹. The position of the hand wheel being set
at a given point along the screw to determine a certain position for the bottom
plungers to occupy in the mould.
The bottom plungers are guided in their vertical movements at the top by the
moulds and by the screws 6 at the bottom which are screwed in on each side of the
pressure bar G Fig. 3. The bottom part of the plungers being provided with deep
sides slotted to receive the screws 6 Fig. 3 to form guides for the same.
The feed box E¹ Fig. 3 is constructed with an inner flange (c) round the top
part for the purpose of preventing the clay clogging in the partitions and thereby
failing to fall readily in the moulds.
The fed box E' is guided in its movements to and from the moulds by a number
of runners mounted on studs and fixed to the table ou each side of the feed box.
The clay hopper L' Fig. 4 and 5 is constructed in two sections or divisions accord-
ing to the number of moulds in the machine. Each section is provided with an
adjustable sliding plate (9) having elongated slot holes for fixing by bolts to the
hopper. By this method of construction the quantity of clay in the hopper can be
regulated more or less as required.
In order to press bricks of diferent thicknesses the press head D is provided with
two sliding blocks h Fig. 3 fitted in elongated openings on each side and mounted
on the ends of the bottom toggle pin L. Each block is fixed in position by two
adjusting screws i one let into the top and one in the bottom of the press-head D.
Each screw is provided with a number of holes made suitable for receiving a bar
for turning the same. The thickness of bricks is represented by the distance
between the faces of the top and bottom plungers when the toggles are in a straight
line and in order to increase or reduce the thickness the sliding blocks h are fixed
by the screws in a higher or lower position according to the distance required
between the faces of the plungers.
The moulds T in which the bricks are pressed are formed in a metal box with
taper sides for accurately fitting the taper seatings (K) formed in the two main
frames F and resting against the projections (K) forming part of the seatings.
The seatings (K) are also recessed to a certain depth for receiving a spigot formed
in the side cf the mould box. The mould box is kept in place by the stay (¹)
screwed to the main frames. The two projections (K) are also provided with
screws (m) for fixing the mould box against the stay (1) and also to press the same
out when it is required to remove it.
The driving arrangement of the machine consists of a fast and loose pulley (2)
running on the shaft (S) and provided with a belt bar (o) fitted with the belt
forks (P) guided in suitable brackets. The belt bar (o) is actuated by the lever (s)

page_text: pivoted on the shaft (1) mounted in a bracket fixed to the main frame F. The
pulley shaft (S) is also provided with a brake pulley (y) fitted with a suitable
brake strap. The brake strap is actuated by the lever (a) which is fixed on the
bottom side of the shaft (t) the lever being provided with a slot at the outer end
fitted with a pin and connecting link attached to the brake strap. The slot in the
lever a enables the lever (s) to travel a sufficient distance to allow the belt bar (o)
to throw the belt on to the loose pulley and then act to put the brake on. The
loose pulley is made sufficiently wide for allowing any extra travel of the belt due
to putting the brake into operation.
The general construction of the machine is illustrated by Figs. 1 and 2. The
two main frames F are erected parallel to each other. The press-head D is placed
between the two frames and guided in adjustable and removable strips. The
pressure rods A are placed outside the main frames one on each side and also guided
in their vertical movements by strips similar to the press-head. The crank shaft is
carried in suitable bearings mounted on the top side of the frames. The lifting
cams W are situated directly under the runners U fixed in the pressure rods.
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:-
(First) In a brick press the arrangement of a lifting mofion placed directly
under the pressure rods A, substantially as herein described and illustrated.
(Second) The construction in a brick press of the feed box having an internal
flange to prevent the clay from clogging substantially as herein described and
illustrated.
(Third) In a brick press the construction of the clay hopper in sections and
provided with adjusting plates for regulating the the capacity of the same
substantially as herein described and illustrated.
(Fourth) In a brick press, the method of adjusting the bottom plungers by
means of the hand wheel, screw, swivel socket and other parts hercin described and
illustrated.
(Fifth) The device of sliding blocks and screws fitted into the press-head of a
brick press for regulating the thickness of bricks as herein described and
illustrated.
(Sixth) The construction of the mould box in a brick press as herein described
and illustrated.
(Seventh) The construction of the connecting rod fitted with a sliding block as
herein described and illustrated.
(Eighth) In a brick press the general construction and arrangement of the parts
forming the improvements herein described and illustrated.
Dated this the 1st day of March 1898.
FRANCIS JOHNSON,
Applicant.