IM- PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MOULDING, PERFORATING, AND PRESSING BRICKS ARTICLES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Johnson, of Crook, near Darlington, in the
County of Durham, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MOULDING, PERFORATING, AND PRESSING BRICKS
ARTICLES"
AND OTHER
Sealed the 17th March 1868, and dated the 4th October 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th October 1867.
I, SAMUEL JOHNSON, of Crook, near Darlington, in the County of Durham,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MOULDING, PERFORATING, AND PRESSING
BRICKS AND OTHER ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
This machine consists of a bed plate on which are erected four columns
supporting a framing, upon which are fixed the bearings of a crank shaft.
On one end of the crank shaft is fixed a large spur wheel driven by a pinion.
To the crank is fitted a connecting rod, which bas at the other end of it a
mould of the shape of the brick or other article to be formed or pressed;
this mould has a piston inside of it, which is moved up and down by means
of the crank and connecting rod. Immediately underneath the mould and of
shape to correspond with it is placed an iron block, having one or more small
holes in it to allow of the escape below of the surplus clay or other substance.
In operation a piece of clay or other material of suitable stiffness and size, or a
hand-made brick to be pressed is placed upon the block, the mould in

page_text: descending forms presses, and if desired perfo rates the brick or other article,
and in ascending it lifts the brick or other article, which at a convenient
height is delivered out of the mould on to a pallet board in a finished state.
When it is desired to perforate the brick or other article, or to impress it with
any device, the object is accomplished by placing the device or perforators
either on the block or on the piston inside the mould. In some cases instead
of the holes for the escape of the surplus clay or other substance being made
in the block they are made in the said piston. I also attach to one end of
the crank shaft when it is found convenient to do so a wheel and motion for
moving a pallet board under the mould as it ascends for the purpose of
receiving the finished brick, which is then moved out by the same machinery
at every revolution of the crank shaft. In some cases I make the machine
double by attaching another motion to the crank, and actuating another mould
and duplicate machinery by means of it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd April 1868..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
JOHNSON, of Crouk, near Darlington, in the County of Durham, Mechanical
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Samuel Johnson Her special license, that I, the said Samuel Johnson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel
Johnson, 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 therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR MOULDING, PERFORATING, AND PRESSING BRICKS AND OTHER ARTICLES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel Johnson, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,

page_text: and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Samuel Johnson, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, (that is to say):
The nature of my Invention consists in an improved combination of
machinery for moulding, perforating and pressing bricks and other articles
and for removing the pressed bricks or other articles from the machine.
The machinery may be single or double acting.
And in order that the Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section of a brick making or pressing
machine constructed according to my Invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional side
view of the same.
This machine consists of a strong cast-iron bed plate a on which are
erected the four columns b, b, supporting a cast-iron framing c upon which
are fixed the bearings of the crank shaft d; to one end of the crank shaft
is keyed the spur wheel. d which is driven by the pinion e' fixed on the
driving shaft e, which is provided with a fast and loose pulley and e³ and
with a fly wheel o. The space between two of the arms of the spur wheel d'
is provided with a weight to counterbalance the crank and moulding box;
to the crank shaft d is jointed the upper end of the connecting rod f, the lower
end of which is forked and jointed to the studs f', passing through the yoke
or frame 9 to which the moulding box his fixed. To the upper ends of the
yoke g are fixed the studs 9, and all the studs f¹ and g' are provided with
blocks which work up and down in slides b supported by the columns b.
Within the moulding box h is the top piston i which is moved up and down
by the moulding box in the following manner :-To the piston i is fixed the piston
rod fixed above to the cross head; which is guided by the pillars fixed in
the framing c, the upper ends of the pillars support the pulleys around
which pass chains one end of each of which is fixed to the cross head ; and to
the other end- is fixed a weight to counterbalance the piston i. Immediately
underneath the top piston i and moulding box h is the iron block or lower
piston k, having one or more holes through it to allow the surplus clay or
other substance to escape into the carriage which runs on rails placed in a
channel under the bed plate a. The mechanism for removing the finished

page_text: bricks or other articles consists of the following parts:-m is a three-armed
lever mounted on a stud fixed to a bracket connecting two of the columns b;
the curved upper arm of this lever is acted upon by a crank pin projecting
from the disc de fixed on the crank shaft d, and the lower arm of the lever m
is connected by means of a universal joint to the arm n, which swivels on
one of the columns b; to the arm n is fixed the pallet rest o, on which a loose
pallet o is placed; the finished brick is deposited on the pallet o¹ as will be
described berein-after; between the pallet o and the plate of the arm n is a
spiral or other spring to allow the pallet to yield when the brick is delivered
from the mould. To the horizontal arm of the lever m is suspended the
weight m³, the object of which is to bring the pallet o back after the brick
bas been removed; this arm is held up by the catch p which is liberated when
required by a prolongation of one of the studs facting on the lever p¹. The
dotted lines in Fig. 1 represent the position of the catch p and lever m
when the pallet o' is held to one side.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The compressed brick is now
supposed to have been deposited on the pallet rest o or on a loose pallet placed
tbereon, and the stud in the disc d is going to act on the lever m to move
the pallet and the brick on it to one side, while the pallet is moving to one
side a piece of clay or other material of suitable stiffness and size, or a hand
made or impressed brick is placed upon the block k, and the moulding box h
and piston are brought down upon it, the pressure being given by the
crank d, and the final compression by the crank turning over its lower centre;
the excess of clay escapes through the holes in the block k or through holes
in the piston i, and the usual recesses in the upper and lower beds of the
brick are produced by projections on the piston i and block k; any device or
ornament may be produced in the same manner, and if perforations are
required in the bricks or other articles the perforators are attached to the
piston or the block. When the compression is being given to the brick, the
piston i is pressed down by the shoulders g of the yoke g, and when the
moulding box is rising the counterweights attached to the chains passing over
the pulleys prevent the brick from at once being forced out of the moulding
box by the weight of the piston i, but when the moulding box has risen to a
height convenient for the brick being received on to the pallet, then the brick
is thrust out by means of the piston being prevented rising further by the
cross bar on the piston rod, which at a couvenient height comes against the
under side of the cross bridge y, shewn detached in Fig. 3, fixed to the
columns b, b, and forces the brick out of the moulding box while ascending,
the moulding box being thus drawn away from the brick until the brick is

page_text: fully delivered out. As soon as the moulding box has arrived near the top
the stud fraises the long arm of the lever p¹, the short arm of which then
forces back the catch p and liberates the arm of the lever m, which instantly
drops and brings the pallet o' under the moulding box h to receive the brick,
as shewn in Fig. 2. The moulding box is made as deep as is practicably
convenient in order that the ends and sides of the brick may be smoothed and
perfected after compression as it is being thrust out or as the moulding box is
being drawn away from it. In some cases it is preferable to leave the com-
pressed brick or other article on the lower piston block k, and to remove it
by hand or otherwise; this may be accomplished by dispensing with the
counterweights connected to the upper piston i, or by other means as practice
may dictate, and according to the stiffness of the clay or other substance under
operation.
It is sometimes desirable to dispense with the machinery for receiving
and removing the compressed brick, as above described, and to receive
it on a pallet which is held and moved by hand. The machine may be
made double by making the crank shaft with two cranks, each of which
would act on a moulding box provided with the requisite parts, as above
described, or instead of the extra crank referred to the crank on the shaft d
may give motion to a beam to which a second connecting rod f is suspended,
which second connecting rod would work the second moulding box and so
produce a double-acting machine. I wish it to be understood that by varying
the shape of the mould and pistons, tiles and other articles may be produced
in the same manner, and the machinery may also be used for compressing
plastic substances other than clay.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I declare that I claim the general combination and
arrangement of machinery, as shewn and described, for moulding, perforating,
and pressing bricks and other articles, and the apparatus for removing the
brick or other article when complete.
In witness whereof I, the said Samuel Johnson, have hereto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of March, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-eight.