IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MOULDING FIRELIGHTERS OR SIMILAR ARTICLES COMPOSED PARTLY OF RESINOUS MATTERS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, ROBERT LAMONT, of Market Lane, Kilmarnock, in the County of Ayr,
North Britain, Drysalter, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MOULDING FIRELIGHTERS OR SIMILAR
ARTICLES COMPOSED PARTLY OF RESINOUS MATTERS," 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:-
My said Invention has for its object to mould compositions such as are used for
making firelighters in an improved, expeditious, and economical manner; and my
improved apparatus is also advantageously applicable for moulding other articles
when composed partly of resinous matters.
Rosin and sawdust are the sole or principal ingredients of the composition for
forming the firelighters; and the rosin from its peculiar adhesive nature makes the
moulding operation an extremely difficult one. My improved apparatus is shown
on a sheet of explanatory drawings hereunto appended figure, 1, being a plan,
figure, 2, a side elevation, figure, 3, a vertical section of certain parts, and figure, 4,
au inverted plan of a circular table, and set of moulds forming part of the apparatus.
In these drawings the same reference numerals are.used to mark the same or like
parts wherever they are repeated.
The apparatus is shown as made for moulding the firelighters in the form of
thick rings or circular blocks with central holes; but the moulds and other parts
may obviously be easily modified for giving other simple forms. The framing of
the machine comprises two main standards 5, 6, and parts for carrying two
horizontal shafts, 7, 8, one, 7, of the latter having on it a pulley, 9, for a driving
belt and a pinion, 10, gearing with a spur wheel, 11, on the other shaft, 8. One
main standard, 5, carries a circular mould table, 12, which is fixed on a vertical
spindle, 13, held in a bearing block, 14, bolted to one side of the standard, 5, and
indicated by dotted lines. The mould table, 12, is made with a flat annular top
surface, and with moulds, 15, arranged in a number of groups of three each having
their top openings or mouths in the said annular surface. Each mould cavity is in
the form of a vertical cylinder and has fixed to the bottom of it a central vertical
spindle, 16, for shaping the central hole in the firelighter block. An annular
piston, 17, is placed in each mould cavity, and is formed with three rods, 18, which
D

page_text: extend downwards through holes in the bottom of the mould. The mixture of
ground rosin and sawdust or other ingredients is filled into each mould when its
piston, 17, is at the bottom, and the mixture is compressed into a block by the
piston which is pushed upwards by means of its rods, 18. The upward compression
is imparted to the pistons of each group of moulds when by the turning of the
mould table, 12, the group of moulds is brought under a disk, 19, which bearing
upon the top of the table closes the mould cavities and resists the upward pressure.
The disk, 19, is fixed to the bottom end of a vertical spindle, 20, which is held in
a bearing block, 21, fixed to an overhanging part of the frame standard, 6; and
this disk being free to turn is made to do so by friction when the mould table, 12,
turns, but as it turns about a different centre it has a relative movement by which
it frees itself from the tops of the compressed firelighter blocks notwithstanding
their adhesive character. When a group of moulds is in the position under the
disk, 19, for the compression to be effected, the pistons, 17, are forced upwards by
the action on the bottom ends of their rods, 18, of a plunger or block, 22, working in
a vertical guide, 23, and actuated through a connecting rod, 24, (indicated by
dotted lines in figure, 2,) by a crank on the second-motion shaft, 8. This plunger
or block, 22, is provided with a top plate, 25, which can be adjusted to determine
the height to which the pistons, 17, are to be lifted and the consequent thickness
of the firelighter blocks when compressed; or the adjustment may be effected by
packing the lower end of the connecting rod, 24. A compressing action takes
place for each rotation of the second-motion shaft, 8, and between the compressing
actions the mould table, 12, is turned to the extent of the angular distance between
the groups of moulds. For this purpose a rim or flange on the underside of the
mould table, 12, is made with ratchet notches, 26, with which there engages a
spring pawl, 27, fitted to a lever, 28, centerd on the spindle, 13, of the mould table;
and this lever, 28, is connected by a rod, 29, to a lever, 30, centerd on a stud on
the frame standard, 6. The lower end of the lever, 30, has jointed to it a slotted
link, 31; and a pin, 32, passed through the slot of the link is fixed eccentrically in
the face of the spurwheel, 11, and as the spurwheel rotates acts through the
link, 31, lever, 30, rod, 29, and pawl lever, 28, so as to turn the mould table, 12.
The movement of the mould table, 12, which carries a group of moulds from under
the disk, 19, places the group above a second plunger or block, 33, shown in section
in figure, 3, and actuated through a connecting rod, 34, by a crank on the second-
motion shaft, 8. This plunger or block, 33, which like the other is fitted with an
adjustable top plate, 35, or can be adjusted by packing the end of the connecting
rod, 34, is arranged to push the pistons, 17, quite to the tops of the moulds so as
to lift the compressed firelighter blocks quite out of the moulds, so that they can
be easily removed by hand. Or a lever or arm may be arranged to push them
aside when raised out of the moulds so that they may not reenter the moulds
again when the pistons descend. The materials may be filled into the moulds by
hand when the moulds are about opposite to the disk, 19; or a hopper may be
arranged to feed the materials down upon the mould table, 12. A stationary
scraper, 36, of a curved shape is provided to fill or assist in filling the moulds by
the action of the table in turning under it, this scraper preventing any of the
materials from being carried round upon the top surface of the table to the
compressing apparatus. The scraper, 36, is fixed to a bracket, 37, and is also
kept in position by an arın, 38, having an eye placed loosely on the vertical
spindle, 13.
I do not restrict myself to the precise details herein described or delineated
provided that the distinctive features of my Invention are retained, these being,
1, the combination constituting the entire machine, 2, the intermittently rotating
table formed with moulds each provided with a piston having rods by means of
which it is actuated, 3, the arrangement of the moulds in groups on an inter-
mittently rotating table all the moulds in each group being acted on simultaneously,
and 4, the combination of the intermittently rotating mould table with the
compressing plunger and the frictionally rotating resisting disk.

page_text: 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. The combination of parts constituting the machine as a whole substantially
as hereinbefore described and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
2. The intermittently rotating table formed with moulds each provided with a
piston having rods by means of which it is actuated substantially as hereinbefore
described.
3. The arrangement of the moulds in groups on an intermittently rotating
table all the moulds in each group being acted on simultaneously substantially as
hereinbefore described.
4. The combination of the intermittently rotating mould table with the
compressing plunger and the frictionally rotating resisting disk substantially as
herein before described.