Improvements in Brick Cutting Tables.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Nov., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 1st Oct.. 1894-Accepted. 3rd Nov., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brick Cutting Tables.
We, RICHARD HENRY ROBINSON, Engineer and Ironfounder, and RICHARD
BUCK, Foreman Engineer, both of the Albert Works, Preston, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object improvements in brick cutting tables of that
class in which the clay issuing from the die passes over a series of rollers on to
the cutting table and having reached or abutted against a stop proceeds to push
the table outwardly the said table being movable on wheels running on rails.
According to our said invention the cutting or dividing of the clay into bricks
on this kind of table is performed automatically and instead of the clay being
forced through the cutting wires the wires are forced or moved through the clay.
The upper part of our improved cutting table is made separate from the lower
part or carriage that is to say the said upper part (hereinafter referred to as the
table") is mounted on wheels or in slides so as to be movable transversely across
the upper part of the carriage-which is also mounted upon wheels but which
moves or travels in a direction at right angles to that of the "table." A horizontal
shaft (hereinafter termed the "central shaft") supported in suitable bearings
passes underneath the carriage from the back to the front of the apparatus. At
the back of the apparatus a toothed wheel carrying one half of a jaw-clutch is
mounted so as to rotate, freely upon the said central shaft and a pinion fast on a
second shaft-which may be conveniently rotated by means of a pulley and driving
belt-gears into the said toothed wheel and imparts thereto the required continuous
rotation. The other or sliding half of the said clutch is caused to engage with
and to be disengaged from its companion half through the medium of a pivoted
elbow lever whose outer arm is moved by its meeting a projecting part on the
frame of the carriage which as the latter begins to move outwardly-so moves
the lever as to cause the clutch to be put in gear and the central shaft to be rotated
until the said carriage has performed its outward and inward journey when the
clutch is thrown out of gear and the apparatus remains at rest until the end of the
issuing stream of clay again meets the stop whereupon the outward movement of
the table will again cause the apparatus to be set in motion as before. Near to
the jaw clutch the central shaft carries a toothed bevel wheel which gears into a
bevel pinion on the lower end of a vertical spindle or shaft whose upper end
carries one of a pair of elliptical wheels the second or driven elliptical wheel being
preferably cast upon the underside of a disc crank whose rotation through the
nedium of a jointed arm or connecting rod imparts the required backward and
forward movement to the "table." The object of the elliptical gearing is to make
the cut of the wires through the clay a slow one and the return of the wires quick
so as to be out of the way of the advancing stream of clay. The back of the
bevel wheel carries a cam-shaped projection which actuates a forked lever arranged
to operate a sliding clutch on a feather key and so to put in and out of gear the
pinion and its rotating vertical shaft with the elliptical gear (which actuates the
cutting frame) as soon as the carriage has begun to travel on its outward journey
and to ungear the said parts when the carriage is about to start on its return
ourney. The bevel pinion has half the number of teeth of the bevel wheel the
result being that the " " table moves its vertical cutting wires inwardly and

page_text: outwardly during the outward passage only of the carriage the "table" having
got back to its original position by the time the carriage commences its return or
inward journey as already stated. The carriage receives its outward and inward
movement by means of two vertically arranged arms standing and moving in
parallel planes one on each side of the central horizontal shaft. The said arms
are pivoted or fulcrummed at their lower extremities upon fixed studs or axes and
their upper ends are connected to.the underside of the carriage by suitable links
or jointed rods the said arms constituting oscillating or inverted pendulum levers.
Upon the central shaft are arranged (preferably) a wiper cam which as the said
shaft rotates meets the face of that arm which pulls at its upper end-the carriage
outwardly and a crank having a pin and anti-friction bowl which latter meets the
face of the arm which pulls the carriage :back the direction of rotation of the
central shaft being such that the wiper cam meets its arm below the central shaft-
and relatively near its fulcrum-and thereby imparts a quick outward .movement
to the carriage whilst the crank meets its arm above the said shaft and therefore
further from its 'fulcrum-thus imparting a relatively slow return movement to
the carriage. The pulling back arm is provided with a spring locking buffer
whose pressure against the anti-friction bowl-when the stem of the buffer is in
-line with the centre line of the crank-is sufficient to prevent the apparatus from
being set in motion by the rubbing 'friction of the issuing clay as it passes on to
the "tablo"but weak enough to readily give way when the clay reaches and
pushes against the stop. As hercinbefore indicated the vertically arranged board
which ordinarily answers as the "push 'board" is stationary and constitutes-
according to this invention-a resistance board the 'said board being a fixture
upon the carriage the "table" and its stop being arranged to pass under the said
resistance board and the vertical cutting-wires being stretched between a horizontal
upper bar and a lower bar 'both being fixtures upon the "table." The 'position
of the cutting wires is such that a separate wire for cutting off the desired length
of clay is not required. The first wire of the series-that is to say 'the wire
nearest to the die-cuts off the clay at the required point whilst the last wire of
'the series is flush with the face of the stop so that waste of the clay at each end
of the series of cutting wires is prevented. A carrying-off board is placed against
or immediately in front of the cutting wires and the apparatus may be readily
arranged that as each successive carrying-off board has received its load of divided
clay through the cutting wires the said board may be automatically pushed on to a
sloping barrow to be replaced by hand with a fresh carrying-off board.
"The action of the apparatus hereinabove described is as follows:-
When the issuing stream of clay reaches the stop and moves the carriage
forward the elbow lever puts the jaw: clutch in gear thus putting in operation the
other mechanism herein before described. The outwardly moving carriage takes
with it the "table"" and its cutting wires which are simultaneously moved
transversely towards 'the resistance board and as soon as 'the cutting wires have
passed through the clay the carriage moves at a quicker speed up to the completion
of its outward journey the table" having meanwhile returned to its 'normal
position. On the commencement of the return or inward journey of the carriage
the elliptical wheels are automatically put out of gear with their actuating shaft
the "table" therefore being now at rest-whereupon the carriage returns slowly
to receive once more the advancing stream of clay which in due course reaches the
stop and so causes the operation as above described to be repeated.
Dated this 30th day of November 1893.
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in Brick Cutting Tables.
We,
RICHARD HENRY ROBINSON, Engineer and Ironfounder, and RICHARD
BUCK, Foreman Engineer, both of the Albert Works, Preston, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
This invention has for its object improvements in brick cutting tables of that
class in which the clay issuing from the die passes over a series of rollers on to the
cutting table and having reached or abutted against a stop proceeds to push the
table outwardly the said table being movable on wheels running on rails.
According to our said invention the cutting or dividing of the clay into bricks on!
this kind of table is performed automatically and. instead of the clay being forced
through the cutting, wires the wires are forced. or moved through the clay. The
upper part of our improved cutting table is made separate from the lower part or.
carriage that is to say the said upper. part (hereinafter termed the "table") is
mounted on wheels or in slides so as to be movable transversely across the upper
part of the carriage-which is also mounted upon wheels but which moves or travels
in a direction at right angles to that of the "table.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a front elevation.
Fig. 2 an end elevation:
Fig. 3 a plan and
Fig. 4 a transverse sectional view of a brick cutting table constructed according
to our said invention.
A is the upper part of our improved brick cutting table and B the lower part or.
carriage the upper part having rails 1, 1, which run on the wheels or pulleys 2, 2.
and the lower part having the wheels 3, 3, 'which run upon the rails 4 4.
5 is a.
horizontal shaft (hereinafter termed the "central shaft") supported in bearings 6 6.
and passing underneath the carriage from back to front of the apparatus. At the
back of the apparatus a toothed wheel 7 carrying one half of a jaw clutch 8 is
mounted so as to rotate freely on the central shaft 5 and a pinion 7 fast on: a
second shaft 9 which may conveniently be rotated by means of a pulley 10 and a
driving belt-gears into the toothed wheel 7 and imparts thereto the required'
continuous rotation. The other or sliding half 11 of the jaw clutch is caused to
engage with and to be disengaged from its companion half 8 through the medium.
of the pivoted elbow lever 12 whose outer arm 13 is moved by its meeting a
projecting part 15-see Fig. 9-on the edge of the carriage B which as the latter
begins to move outwardly (that is to say towards the right hand side as seen at
Figs. 1, 5 and 6)-so moves the lever 12 as to cause the clutches 8, 11 to be put in
gear and the central shaft 5 to be rotated until the carriage has performed its
outward and inward journey-see broken lines at Fig. 6-when the clutch is
thrown out of gear and the apparatus remains at rest until the end of the issuing.
stream of clay again meets the stop 14 whereupon the outward movement of the
carriage will again cause the apparatus to be set in motion as before. Fig 9 is a
detail view shewing more clearly the action of the projecting part 15 of the
carriage B or the outer arm 13 of the elbow lever 12. The finger 16 mounts the
raised part 17 as the carriage moves outwardly and slides thereon thus holding
the sliding clutch 11 in gear with the clutch 8. Near to the jaw clutch the central
shaft carries a toothed bevel wheel 18 which gears into a bevel pinion 19 on the
lower end of a vertical spindle or shaft 20 whose upper end carries one 21 of a
pair of elliptical wheels the second 22 or driven elliptical wheel being preferably
cast upon the underside of a disc crank 23 whose rotation through the medium of a

page_text: jointed arm or connecting rod 24 imparts the required backward and forward
movement to the table A and cutting wires 30, 30. The object of the elliptical
gearing is to make the cut of the wires through the clay a slow one and the return
of the wires quick so as to be out of the way of the advancing stream of clay.
The back of the bevel wheel 18 carries a cam-like projection or raised part 25
which actuates a pivoted forked lever 26 which operates a sliding clutch 27 on a
feather key and so puts in and out of gear the pinion 19 and its rotating vertical
shaft 20 with the elliptical gear-which also actuates the cutting frame 28-as soon as
the carriage B has begun to travel on its outward journey and to ungear the said
parts when the carriage is about to start on its return journey. The bevel pinion 19
has half the number of teeth of the bevel wheel 18 the result being that the
table A moves its vertical cutting wires 30 30 inwardly and outwardly during the
outward passage only of the carriage B the table A having got back to its original
position by the time the carriage B commences its return or inward journey as
already stated. The carriage B receives its outward and inward movement by
means of two vertically arranged arms or levers 29, 31 standing on each side of
the central shaft 5. Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate more clearly the arrangement of the
said arms or levers and attendant mechanism which is a modification of the arrange-
ment described in our Provisional Specification. The arms 29, 31 are pivoted or
fulcrummed at their lower extremities upon fixed studs or axes 32, 32 and their
upper ends are connected to the underside of the carriage B by the links or
jointel rods 33, 33 the arms 29, 31 constituting oscillating or inverted pendulum
levers. Upon the central shaft 5 is a disc 34 having on one side a pivoted bowl 35
which as the disc rotates meets an inclined projecting part 36 on the lever 31 and
on the other side (shewn in broken lines) is a cam carrying a pivoted bowl 37 the
curved face of the cam and ultimately the bowl meeting another inclined projecting
part 38 on the lever 29. Instead of a spring locking buffer as proposed in our
Provisional Specification we employ a locking catch 39 which enters a notch in the
disc 34 to prevent the apparatus from being set in motion by the rubbing friction
of the issuing clay as it passes or slides on to the table. The catch 39 is pivoted
⚫ on an arm 40 jointed at its other end to the lever 41 fulcrummed on a pin 42 at its
lower end and connected by the jointed link 43 at its upper end to the back of the
stop 14.
45 is a spring for fetching back the lever 41 from its position at Fig. 6
to its normal position at Fig. 5. When however the carriage B reaches the end of
its outward journey the lower end or heel 41* of the lever 41 will have assumed the
position indicated by broken lines at Fig. 6 that is to say the lever 41 will be
pulling against the spring 45 and so withdrawing the stop 14 from the face of the
clay whilst the latter is being pushed off the table. As hereinbefore indicated the
vertically arranged board 46 which ordinarily answers as the "push board" is
stationary and constitutes a resistance board the said board being a fixture upon
the carriage B the table A passing or traversing under the said resistance board
and the vertical cutting wires 30, 30 being stretched between a horizontal
upper bar 47 and a lower bar 48 both being fixtures upon the table A. The
cutting wires 30, 30 are so placed and a stop to limit the outward movement of the
lever 41 and stop 14 is so arranged that a separate wire for cutting off the desired
length of clay is not required as in ordinary arrangements of such wires. The
first wire of the series 30-that is to say the wire nearest to the die-cuts off the
clay at the required point whilst the last wire 30' of the series is set at the distance
of one brick's thickness from the stop 14 when the said stop has been pushed back
as hereinafter described. Thus waste of clay at each end of the series of cutting
wires is avoided. 49, 49 are rollers of the ordinary type for receiving the stream
of clay from the die. A carrying off board 50 (see Figs. 4, 7, and 8) is placed
against or immediately in front of the cutting wires 30, 30 and the apparatus may
be readily arranged that as each successive carrying-off board has received its load
of divided clay through the cutting wires the said board may be pushed on to a
sloping barrow to be replaced by a fresh carrying-off' board. This may be effected
by means of apparatus such as shewn at Figs. 7 and 8 in which 51 is one of

page_text: two arms fast upon the shaft 52 and carrying at its upper end the horizontal bar 53
having a back lip 54 and 55 being a handle at one end of the cutting table for
operating the apparatus as illustrated by broken lines at Fig. 8. At Fig. 4 56 is.
a lever centrally pivoted to the table Awith which it moves-having at one end
the turned-up finger 57 and at its other end a curved slot enclosing the pin 58
projecting from the carriage B. As the table A begins to recede under the
resistance board 46 the curvature of the slot in the lever 56 causes the opposite
end of the lever to be raised and so to retain the carrying-off board 50 against the
wires 30, 30 whilst the divided clay is being pushed or slided upon it.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:
:-
When the issuing stream of clay reaches the stop 14 it first of all pushes back
the said stop from the position shewn at Figs. 1 and 5 to that shewn at Fig. 6 the
lever 41 having meanwhile pulled over or partially rotated the disc 34 whereupon
the outward or forward movement of the carriage B is continued until the position
indicated by broken lines at Fig. 6 is reached the elbow lever 12 having meanwhile
put the jaw clutches 8, 11 in gear thus putting in operation the central shaft 5 and
attendant mechanism hereinbefore described. The outwardly moving carriage B
takes with it the table A and its cutting wires 30, 30 which are simultaneously
moved transversely the one under and the other towards the resistance board and
as soon as the cutting wires have passed through the clay the carriage-by the
action of the now descending bowl 35 on the lever 31-leaves the stream of clay
and moves at an increasing rate of speed up to the completion of its outward
journey the table A having meanwhile re-assumed its normal position. On the
commencement of the return or inward journey of the carriage B the elliptical
wheels the cam part 25 of the wheel 18 having passed from under the lever 26
which operates the jaw clutch 27-are automatically put out of gear with their
actuating shaft 20-the table A being therefore now at rest-whereupon the
carriage B returns to receive once more the advancing stream, of clay which in due
course again reaches the stop 14 aud so causes the operation as above described to
be repeated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
clain is :-
1. In a brick cutting table the combination with a travelling carriage of a
movable stop such as 14 mechanism set in motion and arrested by the movement of
the carriage and means whereby a stream of clay is automatically divided and
delivered upon a carrying-off board substantially as described and shewn in the
drawings.
2. In a brick cutting table the combination with a travelling carriage a
resistance board stationary upon said carriage and cutting wires caused to move
towards and from said resistance board of elliptical geared wheels for the purpose
of imparting a slow forward or cutting movement and a quick outward or return
movement substantially as described and shewn in the drawings.
3. The improved brick cutting table constructed and operating substantially as
described and shewn in the drawings.
For the Applicants
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.