IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MAKING
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Wardle Turner, of the Victoria Works,
Tunstall, in the County of Stafford, Earthenware Manufacturer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MAKING
Sealed the 22nd May 1866, and dated the 24th November 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Wardle Turner
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th November 1865.
I, GEORGE WARDLE TURNER, of the Victoria Works, Tunstall, in the
County of Stafford, Earthenware Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
MAKING POTTERY, EARTHENWARE, OR CERAMIC ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
My Invention has reference to the manufacture of moulded articles of
pottery and other ware, made of dry pulverized clay by means of dies and
pressure, and has for its object a more expeditious mode of manufacturing the
same.
For this purpose I construct a metal table made to revolve partially at
certain intervals upon a central vertical axis by means of mechanism to be
hereafter described. Upon the circumference of this table are formed a series

page_text: of moulds or dies, the bottoms of which are capable of being raised up so as
to deliver the article when manufactured. An upright framing rises up at
opposite sides of the table, and carries at top a shaft receiving rotary motion
from a steam engine or any other source of motive power. This shaft is
provided at either side of the table with a cam or excentric, serving to impart
an up-and-down motion to two stampers working up and down in guides
formed on the upright framing.
To the lower ends of these stampers are
fixed the upper parts of the before-mentioned dies or moulds fixed on the
tables, so that as these, after being filled to the required extent with the
pulverized clay, pass round and come underneath the stampers, the upper
parts of the moulds upon these are made to descend into the part of the
moulds on the table, and to exert the requisite pressure upon the pulverized
clay in the latter to form it into the article required.
The intermittent rotary motion to be imparted to the table for this purpose
is as follows:-Upon the end of the cam shaft is fixed a crank or crank plate
imparting a reciprocating motion by means of a connecting rod to a pawl
acting upon a ratchet wheel. This. ratchet wheel is fixed on a horizontal
shaft carried by the framing, which shaft carries at its other end a bevil wheel
in gear
with a second bevil wheel fixed to the revolving table. By this
arrangement every time the stampers are made to rise by the revolution of
the cam shaft after having acted upon one die in the table, the latter is made
to perform such a portion of a revolution as will bring the next die under the
stamper, and it then remains stationary whilst the die again descends. In
order to maintain the table stationary in the required position it is held by
a catch which is released at the required intervals by means of the before-
mentioned ratchet wheel or its shaft. A portion of the loose bottoms of the
dies on the table pass through the latter, and are there, by preference, pro-
vided with rollers which rest upon a portion of the framing when the pressure
is being exerted by the stampers, and as the dies pass from underneath the
stampers an inclined plane fixed underneath the table is made to push the
loose bottoms up out of the dies so as readily to deliver the articles that have
been formed in them. When the stampers are actuated by cams instead of
excentrics their upward motion is effected by means of springs attached
thereto and to the upright framing. The loose bottoms of the dies, as also.
the upper parts thereof fixed to the stampers, are capable of being removed.
and replaced by other dies or moulds, according to the form of the article to
be manufactured.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Wardle Turner in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th May 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WARDLE TURNER, of the Victoria Works, Tunstall, in the County of Stafford,
Earthenware Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of. November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said George Wardle Turner, Her special licence that I, the said
George Wardle Turner, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said George Wardle Turner, 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 OR APPARATUS FOR
MAKING POTTERY, EARTHENWARE, OR CERAMIC ARTICLES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Wardle Turner, 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, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar month's next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent: :
NOW KNOW YE, that I; the said George Wardle Turner, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement. thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention has reference to the manufacture of moulded articles of
pottery and other ware made of dry pulverized clay by means of dies and
pressure, and has for its object a more expeditious mode of manufacturing
the same. For this purpose I construct a metal table made to revolve
partially at certain intervals upon a central vertical axis by. means of
mechanism to be hiereafter described. Upon the circumference of this table
are formed a series of moulds or dies, the bottoms of which are capable of

page_text: being raised up, so as to deliver the article when manufactured. An upright
framing rises up at opposite sides of the table, and carries at top a shaft
receiving rotary motion from a steam engine or any other source of motive
power. This shaft is provided at either side of the table with a cam or
excentric serving to impart an up-and-down motion to two stampers working
up and down in guides formed on the upright framing. To the lower ends of
these stampers are fixed the upper parts of the before-mentioned dies or
moulds fixed on the table, so that as these, after being filled to the required
extent with the pulverized clay, pass round and come underneath the stampers,
the upper parts of the moulds upon these are made to descend into the part
of the moulds on the table, and to exert the requisite pressure upon the
pulverized clay in the latter to form it into the article required. The
intermittent rotary motion to be imparted to the table for this purpose is as
follows:-Upon the end of the cam shaft is fixed a crank or crank plate,
imparting a reciprocating motion by means of a connecting rod to a pawl
acting upon a ratchet wheel; this ratchet wheel is fixed on a horizontal shaft
carried by the framing, which shaft carries at its other end a bevil wheel in
gear with a second bevil wheel fixed to the revolving table. By this
arrangement every time the stampers are made to rise by the revolution of
the cam shaft after having acted upon one die in the table the latter is made
to perform such a portion of a revolution as will bring the next die under the
stamper, and it then remains stationary whilst the die again descends. In
order to maintain the table stationary in the required position it is held by a
catch, which is released at the required intervals by means of the before-
mentioned ratchet wheel or its shaft. A portion of the loose bottoms of the
dies on the table pass through the latter, and are there by preference provided
with rollers which rest upon a portion of the framing when the pressure is
being exerted by the stampers, and as the dies pass from underneath the
'stampers an inclined plane fixed underneath the table is made to push the
loose bottoms up out of the dies, so as readily to deliver the articles that have
been formed in them. When the stampers are actuated by cams instead of
excentrics their upward motion is effected by means of springs attached
thereto and to the upright framing. The loose bottoms of the dies, as also
the upper parts thereof fixed to the stampers, are capable of being removed
and replaced by other dies or moulds, according to the form of the article to
be manufactured. In order to fill the moulds with the pulverized material
preparatory to applying the pressure thereto, two boxes containing the
pulverized material are arranged at opposite points over the revolving table,
which boxes have a perforated bottom over which brushes or scrapers are

page_text: made to travel backwards and forwards as the moulds on the table pass
underneath the boxes, whereby the requisite quantity of pulverized clay is
deposited in the moulds before these pass underneath the dies on the sliding
rams.
On the accompanying Drawings is shown the arrangement of the before
described machine or apparatus. Figure 1, Sheet I., shows a side elevation of
the same partly in section. Figure 2, Sheet I., shows a part transverse
section. Figure 3, Sheet II., shows a front elevation, and Figure 4, Sheet II.,
shews a sectional plan. Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in
each of the Figures. A, A, is the framework carrying a central pillar B,
upon which turns the die table C, carrying the dies or moulds D, D, of the
articles to be manufactured. On each side of this table is an upright portion
A', A¹, of the framework, carrying at top the driving shaft E. Upon the end..
of this shaft is fixed a crank plate F,. which imparts an intermittent rotary
motion to the catch wheel H by means of the connecting rod G and pawl K,
working loose upon the same shaft I, to which the catch wheel is fixed. The
shaft I is carried by and passes through the framing A', on the inside of which
it has fixed upon it the bevil wheel J in gear with a bevil wheel L, fixed to
the under side of the table B. Upon the inner faces of the uprights A¹, A³,
are formed or fixed guides M, between which work the sliding rams N, N,.
to the lower ends of which are fixed the dies N¹³, N¹, that are required to act
upon the material in the mould D. At every revolution of the shaft E these
rams are pressed downwards into the moulds D by means of tappets or cams.
O, O, formed or fixed on the shaft E, the rams being made to rise again.after
every such downward motion by means of springs P, P, situated inside them,
the lower ends of which press against studs a, fixed to the framing A¹,
while the upper ends press against the tops of the rams. The relative
position of the cams O, and the pin on the crank plate F is so arranged
that after the rams N have been depressed by the former, so as to act upon
the moulds beneath them, the catch wheel H is made to perform a third
of a revolution, whereby consequently the table B is made to turn to such an
extent as to bring the next moulds D beneath the rams, and then remains
stationary until the latter have again descended. While under the rams, the
moveable bottoms D₁ of the moulds, which pass through the table as shown,
are supported by a portion A³ of the framework, which has a projecting
incline A upon it, whereby the moveable bottoms D' are pushed up as they
pass away from the dies, as shown at Figure 2, Sheet I., so as to deliver the
formed object from the mould. In order to supply the requisite pulverized
material into the moulds before they pass under the rams, two boxes Q, Q,

page_text: are suspended over the table by means of rods R attached to levers S
the one end of each of which is fixed as the fulcrum to the standard T, while
the other end rests upon a tappet U fixed to the shaft E. These boxes have
a perforated metal bottom V, which fits over the moulds D as these pass under
the same. While the table is stationary the boxes rest
upon the moulds as
shown, and when the table is set in motion the tappets U raise the levers
S, and thereby lift the boxes off the moulds D, the boxes being guided in their
motion by the standards T. In order to cause the pulverized material to pass
readily through the perforated bottoms of the boxes into the moulds two
brushes Ware made to travel backwards and forwards by means of rods X
passing through the boxes and actuated by a crank shaft Y passing through
slots in the sliding rams and carried by the framing A¹. This shaft receives
the requisite rotary "motion by means of the spur pinion Z upon the end of
the same in gear
with a spur
wheel Z' loose upon the shaft I. This spur
wheel is fixed to a second catch wheel H¹, also loose on the shaft I, and
receiving an intermittent rotary motion by the same pawl K that actuates the
catch wheel H, but in an opposite direction and at a different time, the catch
wheel H being moved when the pawl 'moves upwards, and H¹ being moved
when the pawl moves downwards, so that the brushes W are actuated when
the table B is stationary, and vice versa.
Having now described the nature of my Invention," and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I am
aware it is not new to form articles of earthenware or pottery by pressing the
pulverized material between dies, also that revolving tables carrying dies
acted upon by rams have been employed for manufacturing bricks, but what I
claim is, the construction and use of machinery or apparatus for making
pottery, earthenware, or ceramic articles from pulverized clay, by means of
dies or moulds upon a rotating table acted upon by rams arranged and operating
in combination substantially as and for the purposes herein-before described
with reference to the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Wardle Turner, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
GEORGE WARDLE TURNER.
(L.S.)