IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Porter, of Blackburn, in the County of
Lancaster, Joiner, and James Porter, of the same Place, Cabinet Maker,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF BRICKS."
Sealed the 9th April 1858, and dated the 10th October 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Porter and James
Porter, at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 10th October 1857.
We, ROBERT PORTER, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Joiner,
and JAMES PORTER, of the same Place, Cabinet Maker, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF BRICKS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery for the manufacture and pressing of bricks, and presents important
advantages in the way of simplicity of arrangement over the machines at
present in use. It may be actuated by either steam or hand power, and may
be made single or double.
The moulds for the formation of the bricks are arranged horizontally around
a spindle, and are caused to revolve by means of a star wheel or by suitable
tooth gear. The moulds are fitted with loose bottoms, for the purpose of
delivering the brick after its formation therein; these said loose bottoms are
actuated by a lever, to which are fitted a sponge, sand, and oiling apparatus
for the purpose of lubricating the brick mould and facilitating the easy
delivery of the brick after its formation. The clay from which the bricks are
formed may be prepared in a pug mill.
After preparation it is placed in a box arranged in front of the moulds, into

page_text: which it is forced from the box by means of a plate attached to a rod worked
by a crank or eccentric. The shaft on which the moulds are fixed is then
actuated by a star wheel or suitable tooth gear, causing it to perform a portion
of a revolution intermittantly, whereby the top of the mould, which was
presented laterally to the clay whilst in the act of receiving it from the box
before mentioned, is brought downwards and at the same time another mould
is brought opposite to the box to be in like manner filled with clay. The
moulded clay is removed from the bottom mould, which has been filled and
moved downward by means of a lever acting upon its loose bottom, which is
coupled with the loose bottom of the opposite or top mould, whereby such
moulded clay is forced out and deposited upon an endless band running on
rollers arranged for that purpose by which it is carried away.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Porter and James Porter in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 9th April 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
PORTER, of Blackburn, in the County of Lancaster, Joiner, and JAMES PORTER,
of the same Place, Cabinet Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Robert Porter and James Porter, Her special license, that we, the said
Robert Porter and James Porter, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Robert Porter and James Porter, our executors,
administrators, or 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Robert Porter and James
Porter, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, 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 same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office, within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Robert Porter and James Porter, do
hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, 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 :-
Our said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery for the manufacture and pressing of bricks, and presents important
advantages in the way of simplicity of arrangement over the machines at
present in use. It may be actuated by either steam or hand power, and may
be made single or double.
The moulds for the formation of the bricks are arranged horizontally around
a spindle, and are caused to revolve by means of a star wheel or by suitable
tooth gear. The moulds are fitted with loose bottoms, for the purpose of
delivering the brick after its formation therein; these said loose bottoms are
actuated by a lever, to which are fitted a sponge, sand, and oiling apparatus.
for the purpose of lubricating the brick mould and facilitating the easy
delivery of the brick after its formation. The clay from which the bricks
After preparation it is placed
into which it is forced from
are formed may be prepared in a pug mill.
in a box arranged in front of the moulds,
the box by means of a plate attached to a rod worked by a crank or
eccentric. The shaft on which the moulds are fixed is then actuated by
a star wheel or suitable tooth gear, causing it to perform a portion of a
revolution intermittantly, whereby the top of the mould which was pre-
sented laterally to the clay whilst in the act of receiving it from the box
before mentioned, is brought downwards and at the same time another mould
is brought opposite to the box, to be in like manner filled with clay. The
moulded clay is removed from the bottom mould which has been filled and
moved downwards by means of a lever acting upon its loose bottom, which is
coupled with the loose bottom of the opposite or top mould, whereby such
moulded clay is forced out and deposited upon an endless band running on
rollers arranged for that purpose, by which it is carried away.
And in order that our said Invention may be properly understood, we shall
now proceed to describe the several illustrative Figures upon the explanatory
Sheets of Drawings which we have hereunto appended, for the purpose of
shewing certain modifications under which our improvements may be judiciously
carried out in practice.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1 of our Drawings, is a side view or elevation of one
modification of our improved machinery for the manufacture of bricks, as
looking upon the side of the machine on which the driving gear is fitted;

page_text: Figure 2 is a plan of the machine, corresponding to Figure 1. Figure 3, on
Sheet 2 of our Drawings, is a vertical section of the mould box and the parts
connected therewith; Figure 4, on the same Sheet, is an end elevation of a
portion of the machine.
The framing of the machine consists of two open panelled cast-iron side
standards A, which are connected by horizontal cross stays. The machine
is supported upon four small wheels, so as to be readily removed from place
to place; these supporting wheels are made with short axles, which are
carried in bearings pendent from the side standards A. The moving parts
of the machine are actuated from the main shaft B, which extends beyond
the framing upon one side, and is driven by means of an endless belt
passed round the fast and loose pulley C. The endless belt is carried
upwards and round a drum wheel fitted overhed, and derives its motion
either from a steam engine or other prime mover. Upon the shaft B and
between the pulley C and the standard A is keyed a pinion D which gears
with the wheel E, which is fast to a shaft F arranged to the right of the
pinion D. The bearings of the shaft F and those of a corresponding shaft,
which will presently be referred to, are carried in brackets pendent from the
side standards A; the pinion D also gives motion to the wheel G, which is
fast to the crank shaft H; the bearings of this shaft are fitted in the upper
longitudinal rail of the framing. The wheel G is in gear with the wheel I,
which is keyed to the shaft J; this shaft corresponds in its office to the shaft
F, but is driven in the opposite direction; both shafts are arranged in the
same plane, and equidistant from the ends of the machine. The wheels
E and I on the shafts F and J are made with segmental wheels or tappets
K and L upon their inner sides next the standard A. The tappets K and L
have each one tooth, as shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 1 of our Drawings,
which imparts an intermittent motion to the star wheels M and N, which are
fast to the shafts O and P. The periphery of each of the star wheels M and N
is divided into eight parts, four of which are concave surfaces which correspond
in their radii to the radius of the circular portion of the tappets K and L;
the other four parts of the periphery of the star wheels M and N are made of
a curved or indented form, so that when either of the tappets K or L come
in contact with the projecting angle of the indented parts, the star wheel is
thereby caused to rotate through a fourth part of a complete revolution, but
when the correspondingly curved surfaces of the tappets and the star wheels
are in contact no motion is imparted to the star wheels. Upon the shafts O
and P,
which are actuated by the star wheels, are fitted the moulding boxes or
cylinders and R. In this modification these cylinders are made with

page_text: four boxes or moulding recesses therein, as shown at S in Fugure 3 of our
Drawings. These moulds S are arranged equidistant from each other upon the
cylinder, and each of them is fitted with a moveable bottom moulding plate T,
which is made so that it will slide from top to bottom of the mould, or vice
versa. The bottom plates T are connected to each other in pairs by means of
the rods U, that is to say, the bottom plate of one mould is attached to the
plate of the opposite mould. In this manner, if one of the plates T is pushed
from the top of its mould to the bottom, this depression causes the plate
attached thereto to be moved from the bottom of its mould to the top. And
if a mass of clay has been previously put into the mould, the movement of its
bottom plate from the bottom to the top will consequently expel the moulded
clay. In making bricks with this machine, the clay which may have been
previously prepared in a pug mill, is divided into masses of about the size of a
brick; this is done by boys who attend to the feeding of the machine. A
lump of clay is placed in the hopper V, in the lower and horizontal part of
which a plunger W works to and fro. The inner face of this plunger is made
with a projecting bevil-edged piece X, which forms a corresponding indenta-
tion in one surface of the moulded brick. A similar projecting part Y is
formed on each of the bottom plates T, which form an indentation upon the
opposite side of the moulded brick, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 4 of
our Drawings. A like arrangement of a hopper Z, and plunger a, is fitted
upon the opposite side of the machine, and both the plungers W and a are
connected by the rods b and c to the crank shaft H, from which they derive
their reciprocatory motion. The plungers as they move to and fro in the
horizontal part of the hoppers V form a kind of false bottom to the vertical
part of each hopper; that is to say, when the plunger travels away from the
mould it passes the opening of the vertical part of the hopper, and allows the
mass of clay previously deposited therein to fall to the lower or horizontal
part. As the plunger approaches the mould it presses the mass of clay into
the mould and thereby forms the brick; the cylinder is then caused to rotate
a quarter of a revolution by means of the tappet striking the indented portion
of the star wheel; this amount of rotation brings another mould opposite the
plunger. Any superfluous clay that may exude beyond the edges of the mould
is removed, and the surface of the brick is also smoothed by the action of a
scraper or "doctor;" this is a bevil-edged blade d, which is pressed by a
spring e that is carried upon the lower side of the hoppers. The edge of the
"doctor" presses against the surface of the moulding cylinder as it rotates, its
bevilled edge cutting away the superfluous clay, and serving to smooth the
surface of the moulded brick. The pressed or moulded clay is forced out of

page_text: the mould by means of a mechanical arrangement, which serves to sand the
plates T and oil the sides of the moulds, so that the clay may not adhere
thereto. This arrangement consists of a pair of oscillating levers g, which are
centred upon the pivots h; these pivots are carried in bearings fixed to the
side standards A. The levers g are connected to each other by the rods i,
which serve as spindles for the pulleys j; these pulleys are alternately actuated
by tappets on the shafts F and J, so that as the wheels E and I rotate; the
tappets k, on their shafts F and J, alternately depress the levers g, causing
them to oscillate at either end, in manner simial to the motion of a scale
beam. To the extremeties of the levers 9 are attached two forked rods 1,
which slide up and down in grooves formed on the inner sides of the standards
A. The rods are connected at their upper extremities by a flat piece of
metal m, which is bolted thereto. The piece of metal m carries pendent rods
n, to the lower ends of which is attached a box o, inside of which is fitted a
box of somewhat smaller size; the bottom of this box is perforated. The
space between the two boxes is to contain a supply of oil, which flows slowly
through flannel or other porous material that is pressed in between the lower
edges of the outer and inner boxes. The inner box is filled with sand, a
portion of which is deposited upon the bottom plates of the moulds each time
the sand box descends thereon. Thus, as the pinion D rotates the wheels
E and I alternately move the star wheels M and N round a quarter of a
Whilst one mould is
revolution, each time presenting a mould to be filled.
being filled by the plunger moving forward to press the clay therein, the other
moulding cylinder is being moved round, and the plunger withdrawn to allow
the clay to fall to the bottom of the hopper. When the filled mould is inverted
by the partial rotation of the moulding cylinder, the tappet on the shaft F or J
depresses that end of the levers g; this action causes the sand box o to descend
upon the moveable plate T of the mould beneath it. The descent of the sand
box upon the plate T of the mould pressess it downwards from the upper
edge of the mould to the bottom, ready for receiving the clay to be moulded.
The contact of the sand box with the plate deposits a layer of sand thereon,
and as the box o passes through the mould the saturated flannel which
projects between the two boxes oils the sides of the moulds to prevent the clay
adhereing thereto. The moveable plates T in the upper and lower moulds
being connected by the rods U, it follows that as the upper one is depressed,
it will force the lower one downwards also, and thereby expel the moulded
clay contained therein. The next quarter turn of the moulding cylinder brings
the and prepared mould to a horizontal position and facing its con-
tiguous plunger, which then moves forward to fill it with clay. In this
upper

page_text: manner the moulding of bricks is carried on at each end of the machine, the
attendant boys alternately filling each hopper with masses of clay. The bricks
as they are successively pressed out of the moulds are deposited upon the
endless travelling belt p, which moves over the rollers q. The belt p is carried
round the end rollers r, the inner one of which is driven by a strap or endless
belt, which is carried round its contiguous shaft F or J. As the bricks are
carried forward upon the belts p, they are removed therefrom by the attendant
boys. Although we have shewn in our Drawings our improved brick machine
as constructed to mould and deliver bricks at both ends, it is obvious that the
machine may be made single acting, or with only one moulding and delivering
arrangement.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, we would observe, in conclusion, that we do not confine or restrict
ourselves to the precise details or arrangements which we have had occasion
to describe or refer to, as variations may be made thereupon without deviating
from the principles or main features of our said Invention; but what we
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery or apparatus
for the manufacture of bricks, as herein-before described.
Secondly, the system or mode of moulding or making bricks by means of
the machinery or apparatus, as herein-before described.
Thirdly, the systym or mode of actuating the moulding cylinders or mould
boxes, as herein-before described.
Fourthly, the use and application of rotary moulding cylinders or mould
boxes in and to machinery or apparatus for making or manufacturing bricks,
as herein-before described.
Fifthly, the use and application of the apparatus or mechanical arrange-
ments for sanding and oiling the moulds used in the manufacture of bricks, as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Robert Porter and James Porter,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Third day of April, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
ROBERT PORTER. (L.S.)