IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRECLAY GAS RETORTS AND IN THE MACHINERY FOR MANU- FACTURING THE SAME
Year: 1884

page_text: We BENJAMIN GIBBONS and WILLIAM PIKE GIBBONS trading under the style
or firm of "B. Gibbons Junr" at Lower Gornal in the County of Stafford, Gas
Retort Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of our said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRECLAY GAS RETORTS AND IN THE MACHINERY FOR MANU-
FACTURING THE SAME to be as follows:-
Hitherto the mouthpieces or flanges of retorts of this description have been made
by hand in one or other of the various methods now well known in the trade. By
our improved invention which is especially applicable to those retorts made by
machinery, the mouthpiece or flange is manufactured at one and the same time
In the
and of similar material or mixture of clay as the body of the retort.
manufacture of retorts by machinery as is now generally practised the flange is
added or formed after the retort has been removed from the machine by which it
has been manufactured, but by our improved method we lengthen to the desired
extent and enlarge the inside of the lower portion of the outer die to such an
extent as the flange or shape thereof may require.-On the outside of the lower
portion of the die we attach or cast suitable snugs for the purpose of securely
holding in its position the bottom or base plate and this is by preference attached
to the die by means of suitable screws or bolts. When the mouthpiece or flange of
a retort constructed according to our invention has been pressed or formed in its
die the base plate is removed in the following manner.
The before mentioned bolts or screws are released, and suitable arms attached to
the plate allow the weight of the said plate to be taken by regulating screws
which said screws are provided with wheels or pulleys at either the upper or lower
end thereof. These wheels or pulleys run upon suitable rails or platforms and by
The before
means of these the said base plate is removed from under the die.
mentioned base plate has fitted through it any desired number of loose plugs and
it will be understood that these projecting plugs or studs will form the holes or
apertures required in the flange of a finished retort, generally known as " bolt holes."
By the use of our improved invention mouthpieces or flanges of a different size
or shape can be made with equal facility as those mouthpieces or flanges of the
same size and shape as the body of the retort.

page_text: We BENJAMIN GIBBONS and WILLIAM PIKE GIBBONS trading under the style or
firm of B. Gibbons Junr at Lower Gornal in the County of Stafford Gas Retort
Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS
IN FIRECLAY GAS RETORTS AND IN THE MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING THE
SAME and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Hitherto the mouthpieces or flanges of Retorts of this description have been
made by hand in one or other of the various methods now well known in the
trade By our improved invention which is especially applicable to those retorts
made by machinery the mouthpiece or flange is manufactured at one and the same
operation and of similar and the same material or mixture of clay as the body of
the retort In the manufacture of Retorts by machinery as is now generally
practised the flange is added or formed after the retort has been removed from
the machine by which it has been manufactured but by our improved method we
lengthen to the desired extent the inner and outer portion of the dies, and enlarge
the inside of the lower portion of the outer die to such an extent as the flange or
shape thereof may require On the outside of the lower portion of the die we
attach or cast suitable snugs for the purpose of securely carrying or holding in its
position the bottom or base plate and this is by preference secured to the die by
suitable screws or bolts.-When the mouthpiece or flange of a retort constructed
according to our invention has been pressed or formed in its die, the base plate is
removed in the following manner The before mentioned bolts or screws are released,
and suitable arms attached to the bottom or base plate allow the weight of the said
plate to be taken by suspending screws which said screws are provided with
wheels or pulleys at either the upper or lower end thereof. These wheels or
pulleys run upon suitable rails or platforms and by means of these the said base
plate is removed from under the die. The before mentioned base plate has fitted
through it any desired number of loose plugs and it will be understood that these
projecting plugs or studs will form the holes or apertures required in the flange of
a finished retort generally known as "bolt holes." By the use of our improved
invention mouthpieces or flanges of a different size or shape can be made with
equal facility as those mouthpieces or flanges of the same shape and size as the
body of the retort.-That our invention may be better understood we have annexed
Drawings thereof which we will now proceed to describe.
On
Similar letters of reference refer to the same parts in all the figures Fig 1 is a
partial vertical section through the apparatus on the line X Y Z figure 3 Fig 2 is
a partial elevation of the apparatus taken on line V W figure 3 with base plate
moved aside Fig 4 is a detail of one of the T headed bolts Fig 5 is a detail of
one of the bolt hole plugs Fig 6 is a plan of the nut of the suspending screws.
the drawings a is the inner die for forming the mouthpiece of the retort, b is the
outer die for the same purpose this has a projecting rim b' by which it is secured
to the outer die j for forming the body of the retort, by means of the ring k and
the bolt On the outer die b pairs of snugs ce are provided which support the
beads of T headed bolts d by means of which the base plate e is secured to the
dies a and b during the process of making the retort mouthpiece. The nuts on
these bolts are preferably made with handles all in one piece with them as shown

page_text: at d' they are thus easily slackened or tightened without the use of a spanner.
The baseplate e may be provided with the requisite number of holes, through which
are inserted the bolt hole plugs g which form the bolt holes in the mouthpiece of the
retort; and also with projecting rings e of suitable size and shape which will groove
the end of the flange of the retort. The baseplate is provided with recesses e¹ in
which fit the arms fone on each side.-Each of these arms has an aperture at the
outer end in which fits a nut f2 in the manner shown. Into each of the nuts f*
screws a bolt h by means of which the baseplate is suspended. These bolts are
rotated in the nuts f' by means of the hand wheels h which are secured to the
bolts. The upper ends of each of the bolts h passes through a fork it can rotate
in this but is prevented. from dropping through by the head h² Each fork / is
provided with a pin in which rotates a grooved pulley m.-Each of these pulleys
runs on a rail n the two rails being of course parallel to each other In the
drawings the rails n are shown of T section and the pulleys formed to suit them
but the exact shape is not material. The rails n are made of convenient length
and secured in any appropriate manner. o is a tie rod to secure the inner die a.
The apparatus is shown in Fig 1 in the position required for moulding the retort
mouthpiece. When the mouthpiece is moulded the nuts d¹ are slackened and the
bolt hole plugs g withdrawn, the suspending rods h being properly adjusted, the
baseplate e with its appurtenances is run out of the way as shown in Fig 2 It
will be understood that the before mentioned base plate may be carried by wheels
upon a plane instead of the before described pulleys. We do not limit ourselves to
the exact formation and configuration of parts shown in the drawings, but we may
vary them if required while not departing from the nature of our said invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is
1 The application, construction, and use of a base plate for the manufacture of
machine made retorts substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
2 The manner of securing and detaching the base plate substantially as set
out described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3 The method of forming the bolt holes in the mouthpiece by means of the plugs
inserted in the said base plate substantially as herein before described and illustrated
in the accompanying drawings.
4 The withdrawing of the baseplate and its appurtenances when required either
upon the said pulleys or wheels upon a plane substantially as hereinbefore described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
5 The general arrangement and combination of parts of the base plate and
lower portion of the dies as shown on the drawings and described in this specifi-
cation to form an apparatus for moulding the mouthpieces of Fire Clay Gas retorts
at the same time and by a continuous operation as the bodies substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Batch day of February
Witness,
J. EMERY DAVIES,
Sol, Birmingham.
BENJAMIN GIBBONS.
WILLIAM PIKE GIBBONS.