IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MOULDING BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Grey, of 21, Ridley Place, Newcastle-on-
Tyne, Builder and Brickmaker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MOULDING BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER SIMILAR
ARTICLES."
Sealed the 10th June 1856, and dated the 4th January 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Grey at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th January
1856.
I, ROBERT GREY, of No. 21, Ridley Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Builder and
Brickmaker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MOULDING BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER
SIMILAR ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery, or apparatus for making bricks, tiles, pipes, chimney pots, and
other articles capable of being moulded, by expelling the clay or other plastic
material, by continuous pressure, through vertical dies, whereby a greater
simplicity and cheapness of construction in the machinery or apparatus
employed is obtained, and a larger amount of work effected in a given time
than has hitherto been found practicable.
The improvements consist in the employment of a vertical pug mill fitted
with an Archimedian screw, and furnished at the sides at or near the bottom-

page_text: with lateral orifices, each fitted with suitable moulding dies. In front of these
orifices is a traversing platform running on wheels, and fitted with the ordinary
rollers to case the motion of the clay, which is introduced into the top of the
pug mill, and is pressed down by the rotation of the Archimedian screw, which
causes it to exude in the form of a continuous length from the dies on to the
platformis.
A stop piece or barrier is fitted to each platform to stop the motion of the
clay beyond the edge of the platform; the clay on arriving at this barrier
imparts a traversing motion to the platform; during the motion of which a
number of cutting wires come into action. These wires are fixed in a frame
sliding across the platform, but made to move along with it in the direction of
the clay. Since these wires are passed transversely through the clay to sever
it, they will have a double notion imparted to them, namely, one transversely
through the clay, and the other longitudinally, or in the direction of the plat-
form's traverse. This double action secures the cutting of the clay at right
angles. The bricks or other articles having been thus cut, the end piece or
barrier is removed by a suitable mechanical contrivance, such barrier being
made to work on hinges or pivots at the bottom, and when vertical, is held in
that position by a catch. The bricks or lengths of cut material being removed,
the platforms are traversed back by a weight and pulley, or otlier suitable
means, and the end piece restored to its vertical position again.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Grey: in the Great Soal-Patent Office on the
4th July 1856. ….
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS 'SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
Grey, of 21, Ridley Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Builder and Brickmaker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord
Une thousand eight huiidred and fifty-sik, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
ine, the said Robert Grey, Her' special license that I, the said Robert
Grey, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Robert Grey, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-

page_text: fter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
se, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
KENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MOULDING BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER
SIMILAR ARTICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert
Grey, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the saine to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar mouths next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Grey, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for making bricks, tiles, pipes, chimney pots, and other
articles capable of being moulded, by expelling the clay or other plastic material
horizontally, by continuous pressure, through dies placed at or near the bottom
of the sides of a pug mill, whereby a greater simplicity and cheapness of
construction in the machinery or apparatus employed is obtained, and a
Farger amount of work effected in a given time than has hitherto been found
practicable.
The improvements consist in the employment of a vertical pug mill fitted
with an Archimedian screw, and furnished at the sides at or near the bottom
with one or more lateral orifices, each fitted with a suitable moulding die.
In front of each of these orifices is a traversing platform running on wheels,
and fitted with the ordinary rollers to ease the motion of the clay, which is
introduced into the top of the pug mill, and is pressed down by the rotation of
the Archimedian screw, which causes it to exude in the form of a continuous
length from the die on to the platform. This platform and orifice are so
disposed with regard to the centre of the pug mill, that the longitudinal
centre line of the platform and orifice will not form a radiating line from tho
centre of the pug mill shaft, but approaches nearer to a tangent from the
5 circumference of such shaft. By which arrangement the sides and angles of
the stream of clay exuding through the orifice are rendered sharp and smooth,
being free from the raggeduess which so often occurs in ordinary brick machines

page_text: A stop piece or barrier is fitted to each platform to stop the motion of the
clay beyond the edge of the platform; the clay on arriving at this barrier
imparts a short traversing motion to the platform, during the motion of which
a number of cutting wires come into action. These wires are fixed in a frame
sliding across the platform, but made to move along with it in the direction
of the clay. Since these wires are passed transversely through the. clay to
sever it, they will have a double motion imparted to them, namely, one
transversely through the clay, and the other longitudinally; or in the direction
of the platform's traverse. This double action secures the cutting of the clay at
right angles. The bricks or other articles having been thus cut, the end
piece or barrier is removed by a suitable mechanical contrivance, such
barrier being made to work on hinges or pivots at the bottom, and when
vertical is held in that position by a catch. The bricks or lengths of cut
material being removed, the platform or platforms are traversed back by a
weight and pulley, or other suitable means, and the end piece restored to its
vertical position again.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 represents a longitudinal vertical section, partly in elevation, of my
brick-making apparatus complete; Figure 2 is a plan of the same; Figure 3
is an enlarged longitudinal section of the delivery table and cutting mechanism
in the act of cutting; and Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section of the
same. The rest of the Figures are details, which I shall herein-after fully
describe and refer to.
A is the pug mill, the shaft B of which is driven by a spur wheel C, or
other suitable arrangement. This shaft is fitted with the ordinary pugging
arms or knives D, D, for kneading and working the clay, and carries also
at or near its lower extremity a helix or spiral E, which in its rotation
compressed the clay, and forces it out in the form of a continuous stream
through the lateral opening F, which may be fitted with any desired forin
of die. G, G, are a series of rollers forming the surface of the sliding or
travelling platform H, upon which the stream of clay passes as it exudes
from the pug mill.
In a machine of this class, there is an excessive pressure at one corner
of the die, and defective pressure at the other, thus causing the side surface

page_text: of the clay to come out ragged; but in order to obviate this great defect;
the longitudinal centre line x, x, of the platform and orifice, shewn by a red
line in Figure 2, in place of being drawn to the centre of the pug mill shaft,
forms a tangent to a small circle drawn concentrically to the shaft, such circle
being larger or smaller according to the amount of skew desired to be given
to the platform and orifice, but the position shewn in the Drawing I have
found to answer perfectly. This travelling platform contains four V-grooved
pullies I, I, which are let into the framework of the platform between the side
plates J, J, and run upon the inverted V edge of the fixed table J' underneath;
K is the stop piece or barrier, which is hinged at L to the end of the travelling
platform, and is held upright by a tail piece k on the hinge, or by a groove.or
projection near the end of the supporting bar M. This bar is forked, that is
to say, it branches out into two arms or branches N, N¹, as shewn in the
enlarged perspective detail, Figure 5, which are hinged at O to the under side
of the travelling platform H, and rest upon the ends of the blade spring P,
secured at the centro to the fixed table J. Q, Q', are pieces let into tho
under sides of the arms N, N', at the parts where they bear upon the spring.
As the stream of clay.exudes from the pug mill, it passes over the rollers G,
and on coming up against the end picce or barrier K, carries the platform
forwards with it, the barrier being retained in a vertical position by the bar M,
which is also hinged to the travelling platform, as herein-before described.
As the amount of traverse of the platform is so small, the supporting table
J' does not require to be longer than the platform itself, so long as there is
sufficient length between the front pair of pullies and the edge of the table.
R, R, and R', R', are four transverse sliding bars, the lower pair R', R', pass-
ing through rectangular or lozenge-shaped openings in the framework of the
travelling platforin. The upper and lower bars are connected to each other
at their extremities by the short vertical bars or rods S, S, so as to form, in
fact, two rectangular frames.
.
.
These two frames are connected at their upper sides by a bar T laid trans-
versely across them, as shewn in Figure 3, and at their under sides by a
corresponding bar T. Between these two bars T and T are stretched the
ordinary cutting wires U, U. The cutting wires are made to pass transversely
through the stream of clay in motion, so soon as the end of the stream has
come into contact with the barrier K, so that the clay will thus be cut trans-
versely into any number of desired lengths, at the same time that it is exuding
from the pug mill, the cutting wires having not only a transverse motion
imparted to them by hand, in the operation of cutting, but receive also a

page_text: longitudinal motion or traverse with the platform in the direction of the stream
of clay; the mode of effecting such combined motions constituting one of the
main features of my Invention, and enabling the stream of clay to be cut
rectangularly during the time of its longitudinal or outward traverse, whereby
a great saving of time is effected. As the space between the last wire of the
series and the barrier K is the same as the spaces between the other wires, it
follows, as a matter of course, that all waste pieces will be obviated.
The cutter illustrated in my Drawings is made to cut seven lengths or bricks
at one time, but this number may of course be varied to any desired extent by
simply increasing or diminishing the size of the apparatus. Directly under-
neath the lower bar T' of the cutting frame is fitted parallel thereto the short
bar V, dovetailed into the under siles of the transverse bars R', R'; upon each
side of this bar V is hinged a "tumbler" or catch W, W', (shewn more clearly
in the enlarged details, Figures 6, 7, and 8,) cach catch being so hinged to the
bar as to permit of its falling back when pushed in one direction, and of being
immoveable, or offering a resistance, when acted upon in the opposite direction.
These "tumblers" are so arranged that they work in opposite directions to
cach other, and their function is to depress the supporting bar M, and so
release the barrier K from its holding groove or catch, at the moment when
the cutting wires have passed in either direction through the stream of
clay; such wires being made to cut in both directions across the clay, and
do not require to be brought back again to their original position after each
cut. The pressure of the end of the stream of clay against the released
barrier K causes it to be thrown over horizontally on to the end of the
supporting bar M. The stream of clay already cut into lengths is then left
without resistance on the platform, whilst the platform itself is run back
again to its original position close to the die, and the cut lengths are removed
therefrom by hand. The retrograde or back traverse of the platform is
effected by means of the counter-weight X, which is connected to a cord Y
passing over the guide pully Z, and attached to one end of the platform. This
weight also serves to prevent the platform from being run out by the actual
friction of the clay over its surface before arriving at the barrier. Each of the
tumblers W and W' operates on a separate branch of the supporting bar M.
The "tumbler" W acts upon the branch N, and thereby causes the depression
of the supporting bar M, when the cutting frame by its lateral traverse brings
that tumbler into action, as shewn in Figure 6, whilst the tumbler W, at the
next or return stroke or traverse of the cutting frame, is brought in contact
with its respective branch N' in the same manner, and again effects the depres

page_text: sion of the bar 'M. Each "tumbler" in acting on its respective branch to
depress it, presents itself to that branch' in a rigid state, and by having its
lower end rounded or inclined, as shewn in the Drawings, it is enabled to
pass over the branch, and so depress it, but when it has to return again across
the branch, the hinge in the "tumbler "enables it to fall back, and so pass
freely over the branch without again depressing it,-as shewn in Figure 7.
The action of each "tumbler" is precisely similar, but they are so disposed
on the bar. V as to act in different planes on the two branches N, N. The
tumbler which has last acted upon its respective branch passes on the return
stroke through one or other of the slots or openings a, a', formed in a line
with its course on the opposite branch, that is to say, supposing the "tumbler"
W to have acted upon its respective branch" N; it will" on' its return pass
first over the same branch N by turning backwards on its hinge, as in
Figure 7, and then through the slot or opening a in the other branch N', as
shewn in Figure 8, at the return stroke. The slot or opening a serves to allow
the tumbler W to repass the branch N' without acting upon it. The slot or
opening a' in the branch N answers the same purpose for the "tumbler" W¹.
Although I have only shewn one sliding platform and cutting mechanism, two-
or more may obviously be applied to one pug mill, with dies corresponding
thereto.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of my said Invention; but what
I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the general construction and arrangement of machinery or apparatus
for making bricks, tiles, drain pipes, or other articles composed of short lengths
of plastic material, as herein-before described.
Second, the system or mode of making bricks, tiles, and other similar
articles, by cutting them transversely from off' a stream of clay or other plastic
material whilst it is being carried by a travelling platform, as herein-before
described.
Third, the application and use of a travelling platform and moveable
end stop piece or barrier in the manner and for the purpose herein-before
described.

page_text: Fourth, the application of a portion of a helix or spiral disc to the lower end
of an ordinary pug mill shaft; for the purpose of squeezing the clay or other
plastic material through an die or dies placed in the side or sides of the pug
mill, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Grey, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, the Second day of July, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-six.
ROBT GREY. (L.S.)