New or Improved Mechanism for Perforating Earthenware and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 21st June, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Mechanism for Perforating Earthenware and
the like.
I, JAMES FREDERICK WILTSHAW, of the Firm of Wiltshaw and Robinson, of
Copeland Street Works, Stoke-on-Trent, in the County of Stafford, Earthenware
Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows,
that is to say:-
In the production of certain articies of earthenware, china and the like wherein
holes or perforations are required such holes or perforations have to be made
before the articles or fictile are baked, burnt or hardened and to do this by the
methods heretofore followed considerable inconvenience and waste of time is
experienced and entailed by reason of the substance operated upon, adhering to the
perforating pins and thereby leaving or producing a roughened surface on the
article turned out.
To obviate these disadvantages by the production and employment of mechanism
that will perform the functions desired of it, automatically, is the object of this
invention.
This object I attain by arranging a hollow block, to receive the article to be
perforated, the shape of which block is made to correspond with the that of said
article whether circular, square or of other shape in cross section.
This block has the desired openings formed in it so that the perforating pins
passing through the earthenware may enter therein or pass therethrough to carry.
with them the portions of material they force out of the article being produced
which by reason of the block being hollow will fall or may otherwise be carried,
away, while the fitting of the pins into the said holes in the block are such as to
prevent any portion of the material being left around the holes made through the
earthenware or other article.
Mounted in appropriate bearings in proximity with said block, is or are one or
more sliding arms arranged to be moved by lever, crank or other mechanism so that
they may operate in the horizontal and vertical planes, and on each of these arms is
fixed a plate carrying a series of pins for perforating the earthenware or the like
as hereinafter described.
Upon the plate carried by this arm, is mounted another plate, perforated to receive
the series of pins fixed in the former, and this perforated plate is arranged to be
held by yielding springs so that when free and in its normal receded position they
carry it to cause the extending ends of the pins to be well within its perforations,
while when by the motion of the arm it is brought to press upon the article to be
perforated such article prevents the further movement of the perforated plate, buti
the yielding springs behind this latter allow the arm and its plate with the per-
forating pins to proceed until said pins have been forced through the plate, through
the earthenware or the like and into the hollow block herein before described; the

page_text: perforated plate being held in this position until the arm, its plate and the pins it
carries recedes to again bring said pins well within its perforations, by which means
these said pins are freed from or relieved of all matter that might adhere to them
had they not to pass through the perforated plate, and further the outer surface of
the earthenware article is kept by such plate from being roughened as is its inner
surface by the hollow block.
When the articles to be perforated are of cylindrical form, then the hollow block
upon which they are mounted is cylindrical, and the perforated plate which is for
contact with the cylindrical part of the article to be perforated is made to conform
to such shape of surface, while it only carries a sufficient number of pins as may
conveniently be brought radially into contact with its said cylindrical surface,
which is therefore to be turned into position either automatically or otherwise when-
ever more of it has to be perforated than is at this time thus presented.
Should the articles to be perforated be of other shape than circular in cross section
then the hollow block is accordingly made of a corresponding shape to receive them
and the perforated plate is also altered in shape to correspond with the surface with
which it has to come into contact.
By having the perforating pins and their operating parts arranged to act in both
the horizontal and vertical planes I am enabled to perforate both the ends and the
sides of the articles.
Suitable springs or weights and levers are employed to counteract gravity in
connection with those parts where they are found beneficial.
Dated this 19th day of June 1897
New or Improved Mechanism for Perforating Earthenware and
the like.
I, JAMES FREDERICK WILTSHAW, of the Firm of Wiltshaw and Robinson, of 3
Copeland Street Works, Stoke-on-Trent, in the County of Stafford, Earthenware
Manufacturers, 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, that is to say:-
In the production of certain articles of earthenware, china and the like wherein. 3
holes or perforations are required such holes or pertorations are to be made before
the articles or fictile are baked, burnt or hardened, and to do this by the methods
heretofore followed considerable inconvenience and waste of time are experienced
and entailed by reason of the substance operated upon adhering to the perforating
pins and thereby leaving or producing a roughened surface on the article turned 4
out.
To obviate these disadvantages by the production and employment of mechanism
that will perform the functions desired of it automatically, is the object of this
invention.
In order that my said invention may be readily understood and carried into effect 4
I have hereunto appended sheets of drawings illustrative thereof to which by letters
and figures reference is made in the following description.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of mechanism made in accordance with my invention.

page_text: Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 but shows certain of the parts in altered
positions.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line A B of parts shown by Fig. 2 but as seen from
above.
Fig. 4 illustrates a portion of the mechanism with a part added thereto.
Figs. 5 and 6 are drawings in detail hereinafter referred to.
I attain the object of my invention by arranging a hollow block a to receive the
article 6 that is to be perforated, the shape of which block a is made to correspond
with that of said article 6 whether such article 6 is circular, square or other shape
in cross section, the one illustrated being circular.
This block a has the desired openings made in it so that the perforating
pins d d passing through the earthenware may enter therein or pass therethrough
to carry with them the portions of material they force out of the article being pro-
duced, which portions by reason of the block a being hollow will fall or may other-
wise be carried away, while the pins & dare made to fit into said holes c c¹ so
accurately as to enable them to cut the material against the edges of the holes so
cleanly that none of it is left around them, thus the surface of the article acted
upon remains smooth although pierced with the pins.
Mounted in appropriate bearings g gl in proximity with the block a are the
sliding arms ff, the former operating horizontally and the latter in a vertical
direction, the bearings gl being preferably arranged so that they may extend beneath
the bearings g in order that the latter may be formed to slide upon them, so
that the block a may be moved into the position shown by Fig. 1
or into that shown by Fig. 2, in the former figure it is in position for the
arm f¹ to act and produce the perforations c¹ while in the latter the other arm f
may be used to produce the other openings. The said arms f f¹ are operated by the
handle levers h h pivotted upon the bearings g g or any other arrangement of lever,
crank or pedal mechanism for operating the parts f f¹ may be employed as will
be well understood.
On the arms ff are fixed the plates k k¹ carrying the series of pins d d¹ above
referred to, while other plates m m³ perforated to fit accurately over the respective
series of pins d d' are mounted to slide upon projections n n upon which yielding
springs are mounted.
These plates m m¹ are arranged to be moved by their springs p p¹ when free
into such a normal position as to enable the pins d d¹ to recede well within their
openings in said plates m m¹ while when the pins are made to advance by the
actions of their arms towards the block a said plates m m² are also advanced until
they reach and are arrested by the bolts rr secured to parts of the bearings g g¹
upon which they may be adjusted by their screwed nuts 23 so as to effect such
arresting of the plates m m¹ just when same have come into close contact with the
article b on the block a and before they can press firmly against same to force it
out of shape. The advancing movements of the arms f f₁ as also their respective
pins d d may be continued after the arresting of the plates m m¹ by reason of the
springs yielding to allow said pins to advance until they have finally pierced
the article b and entered the block a. On the return movement of these pins d d
their respective plates m m¹ remain in contact with the article 6 until the said:
pins d d have been withdrawn well within their perforations in them, after which
the said plates m m¹ recede so that at each withdrawal the edges of the perfora-
tions in the plates m m² surrounding the pins d d will keep the material forming
the article from following same thus the outer surface of the said article is kepti
from being roughened by the plates m m¹ as is the inner surface by the block a.
When the article b are of a cylindrical shape as shown by Fig. 6 then the block a
is cylindrical and the plate m which is for contact with the cylindrical part of the
article is made to conform to such shape of surface as shown by Fig. 3, while
it only carries a sufficient number of pins as may conveniently be brought radially
into contact with its said cylindrical surface which is therefore to be turned into
position either manually or by the ratchets wheel s¹ and lever t, which by the rod t

page_text: are coupled to so as to be operated by and as the lever h is moved, thus the rotary
movements of the block a are automatically performed. The securing of the
block a in any of its several position is effected by the T piece w (which is under
the pressure of the spring w¹) and the star wheel x.
By having a projection y on the framework g¹ I am enabled to mount a block a¹
thereon as shown by Fig. 4, in which position it is secured by the screw y¹ so that
articles to be perforated may be mounted thereon and acted upon by the vertically
moving pins d¹.
Should the articles to be perforated be of other shape than circular in cross
section then the hollow block is accordingly made of a corresponding shape to
receive them and the perforated plate is also altered in shape to correspond with the
surface with which it has to come into contact.
By having perforating pins and their operating parts arranged to act in both
horizontal and vertical planes I am enabled to perforate both the ends and the sides
of the articles.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. Mechanism for perforating earthenware and the like the same being con-
structed and arranged to operate substantially as herein specified.
2. In mechanism of the class described a series of pins and means for enabling
said pins to pierce the articles under operation the same being arranged in com-
bination substantially as set forth.
3. In mechanism of the class described, a series of pins, a hollow perforated
block for receiving the articles to be acted upon, a plate for stripping the pins and
retaining the outer surface of the article pierced in the condition described and lever
or cord or other mechanism for operating same substantially as herein set forth.
Dated this 19th day of March 1898
JAMES F. WILTSHAW,
Per Samuel Hey,
Agent.