IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND TILES
Year: 1853

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Gregory at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 2nd February 1853. A communication.
I, WILLIAM GREGORY, of Vernon Place, Bloomsbury, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND TILES" to be as
follows:-
This Invention consists in certain new mechanical arrangements
and combinations of parts constituting apparata or machinery for
the manufacture of bricks and tiles, which is effected by placing the
earth or clay, which has been previously mixed in the usual way,
upon a moveable plate, and causing the same to be passed between
cylinders, whereby the earth or clay will be pressed into a sheet or
substance of uniform thickness throughout, and at the same time it
is divided or cut longitudinally into the proper width for a brick by
knives attached to the machine or apparatus; and when the plate
with the compressed earth or clay thus divided has been advanced
a given distance, the sheet or substance of earth is afterwards
divided or cut transversely into the necessary length to form
bricks by knives suitably attached to the machine; and as there are

page_text: several of these knives acting simultaneously, the whole sheet or
substance of earth or clay will be cut at once. The clay or earth is
then removed from the plate, and is now ready to be placed in the
furnace hereafter described. It should be observed that to prevent
the earth or clay from breaking while they are being removed to the
kiln, each piece of earth or clay rests upon a separate plate of metal,
and these several plates of metal are placed in close contact with
each other upon the moveable plate before the earth or clay is
placed thereon, and before passing the same between the cylinders.
But in order to explain more fully the nature of this Invention,
I will proceed to describe the accompanying illustrative Sheets of
then removed from the plate, and is
furnace hereafter described. It should be observed that to prevent
the earth or clay from breaking while they are being removed to the
kiln, each piece of earth or clay rests upon a separate plate of metal,
and these several plates of metal are placed in close contact with
each other upon the moveable plate before the earth or clay is
placed thereon, and before passing the same between the cylinders.
But in order to explain more fully the nature of this Invention,
I will proceed to describe the accompanying illustrative Sheets of
Drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
At Sheet 1, Fig: 1, exhibits a side elevation of one form of machine
or apparatus which I propose to employ. At Sheet 2, Fig. 2, is a
longitudinal and vertical section of the machine shewn at Sheet
1. At each of the above mentioned sheets the machine or apparatus
is shewn without the tranverse knives before mentioned, but the
application thereof will be readily understood by referring to Fig.
10, of Sheet 3, at which sheet Fig. 7, exhibits a side elevation of
another form of machine or apparatus ; and at Sheet 4, Fig. 4, is a lon-
gitudinal and vertical section of the machine or apparatus exhibited
at Sheet 3. At Figs. 1, and 2, of Sheets 1, and 2, X, X, mark a framing
supporting the cylinders R, R', and S, S', which rotate in bearings
not shewn; B, D, are spur wheels fixed upon the ends of the axis of the
cylinder R. The spur wheel D, takes or gears into a corresponding
spur wheel E, keyed upon one end of the axis of the cylinder S¹.
The rotation of the cylinders R¹, and S¹, is effected through the
agency of the pinion A, which may be put into motion by manual
power exerted upon the crank handle Y, or in any other available
manner; and in order that the cylinder S, may partake of the same
movement as the cylinders R', and S¹, an endless chain K, passes
over said cylinders, in which are placed pins or teeth a, for advancing
the chain K. L, marks one of a series of knives attached to a bar b,

page_text: which is securely fixed to the framing X; and there is another
endless chain V¹, which passes over toothed wheels G, and H; said
wheels are keyed upon the axis of the cylinders R, and R,¹ and are
for the purpose of ensuring the same amount of movement of the
said cylinders through the medium of the chain V₁ Z, marks
that portion of the framing upon which the plate J; moves
and is guided in its proper course. The plate J, is shewn in
section at Fig. 4, and in place at Fig. 3, of Sheet 4; and Figs. 6, and
12, of the same sheet exhibit one of the plates M, before mentioned,
upon which the earth or clay is left after it has been cut by the
knives into the shape and size of a brick; and Fig. 3, exhibits the
position of the plates M, when placed upon the plate J; the bars c,
and d, are for the purpose of keeping the plates in their proper
position.
The arrangements employed for cutting the clay transversely, and
exhibited at Figs. 9, and 10, of Sheet 3, is as follows:E', E'; mark
standards fixed to each side of the framing X, at Sheets 1, and 2.
These standards support toothed wheels A¹, of which there are
four, each pair being connected together by a rod e. A crank
handle B', being placed upon said rod imparts motion to the
wheels and endless chain C¹, which pass over the wheels A¹, and
such motion is transmitted to the knives D¹, D', which are fixed in
bars ff, attached to the chain D¹, as shewn at Fig. 10. Thus it will
be seen, that by turning round the handle B', the chains C¹, will be
advanced, and traverse the knives across and through the earth or
clay. It will, however, be necessary to make incisions in the
sides of the plate J, to allow the knives D¹, to pass freely across.
The machine exhibited at Figs. 5, and 7, of Sheets 3, and 4, differs
from the before mentioned one in the follow in respects:- Only
two cylinders o, and u, are employed. A wheel Q, is fixed upon
the axis of the cylinder u, which is turned round by the pinion T,
and handle V. The cylinder o, being free to turn, the plate is caused
to advance by means of a rack placed at the under side thereof,
and into which a wheel W, takes as shewn at Fig. 4. In order
to adapt these machines to the manufacture of tiles, it is only
:

page_text: necessary to substitute other plates of the size of a tile in lieu of the
plates M, and alter the distance of the table from the cylinder
according to the thickness of the tile required. The construction
of the furnace which I propose to employ for baking the bricks
is as follows.
The form of the furnace is octagonal, and at each of the angles
there is a grating, upon which slides a kind of drawer or series of
shelves, in the form of a grating, upon which the bricks to be burnt
are placed. These drawers or shelves are so arranged as that when
the lower one is withdrawn all those which are above descend by
a crane, and in this manner the furnace can always be supplied
from the top, as the bricks are more baked below than above; and
when the bricks in the lowest drawer or shelf are sufficiently baked,
they are removed, and one or other of the shelves above are
substituted in place thereof; and so on in succession each tray or
shelf of bricks becomes gradually baked, the heat employed being
sufficient for that purpose...