IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MAKING BRICKS, TILES, AND ARTICLES OF PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATIONPIVE
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Gathercole, of 112, Loughborough Road,
North Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of
"IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MAKING BRICKS, TILES, AND ARTICLES OF
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Gathercole at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 29th May 1872.
I, JAMES GATHERCOLE, of 112, Loughborough Road, North Brixton,
5 in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR MAKING BRICKS, TILES, AND
ARTICLES OF VARIOUS SIZES AND SHAPES OF PLASTIC, COHESIVE, AND OTHER
MATERIALS," to be as follows :-
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of mechanism for
O making bricks and other articles. My object is to simplify machinery
for such purpose, to expedite the operation, and cheapen the cost.

page_text: The machine is made chiefly of iron, or iron and wood, strongly put
together and very firm.
The accompanying Drawings will assist in showing some of the
movements.
The
In Sketch 1 a is the table or bed plate of the machine; b is the
feeding plunger for pressing the materials into the moulds cand d. The
moulds are in and form part of a frame actuated by cam e.
plunger b decends and forces the material into the mould c and on to
the top of table a; cam e pushes the mould frame forward under the
discharging plunger f, also at the same time mould d under the feeding
plunger b. The discharging plunger f forces the finished article out at
the bottom of mould c on to an endless revolving band or drum g, at the
same time the feeding plunger 6 forces the clay or other material into
mould d. The cam e then draws back into its first possition the
mould frame c, and d will be under the discharging plunger h, which
decends and forces the finished article 8 out of mould d on to the
endless band on drum i, at the same time the feeding plunger 6 descends
and refills mould c, when cam e repeats the reciprocating motion of the
mould frame, and the feeding and discharging plungers repeat their
work. By this discription of moulds, open both at top and bottom, the
recprocating motion, combined with the sliding action of the moulds,
enable me to make bricks and other goods at a great speed, and coarser
clays and other materials can be used.
Sketches Nos. 2 and 3 show different arrangments of parts of the
machine to meet requirements of various materials to be used.
No. 2 is a circular flat frame j containing one or more moulds revolving
on bed plate a, actuated by the vertical shaft k; when j is in its place
the feeding plunger 6 descends and forces the material into one of the
moulds, which then travels to the discharging plunger f, which forces it
out of the mould on to the endess band on drum g; the next mould
has reached the feeding plunger b, and being filled the mould moves
on to be discharged by plunger f, thus a continual feeding and dis-
charging go on.
Sketch 3 is a circular drum, within which are embeded flush with the
surface one or more moulds feed directly from reservoir l, shown on
section end of the same drum 4. The drum has a continuous movement.
The roller m presses the material into the moulds and cleans off any surplus.

page_text: A scraper is placed below the roller to clean away any that may be left.
As the moulds revolve the finished brick or article is discharged and
falls on to the endless bands j and y.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Gathercole in the Great Seal Patent Office.
on the 29th November 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
GATHECOLE, of 112, Loughborough Road, North Brixton, in the County
of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Gathercole, Her special licence that
I, the said James Gathercole, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said James Gathercole, my executors, adminis-
trators, and 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 Invention for IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR
MAKING BRICKS, TILES, AND ARTICLES OF VARIOUS SIZES AND SHAPES OF PLASTIC,
COHESIVE, AND OTHER MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said James Gathercole, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly 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.
66
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Gathercole, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 Drawings hercunto

page_text: This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of mechanism for
making bricks, tiles, and other moulded articles of various sizes and
shapes of clay or any plastic, cohesive, or other materials, or of dry or
partially dry materials made cohesive by other materials being added
therewith, so that it or they can be moulded by and discharged from the
machine in a compact form, my object being to simplify the con-
struction of machinery for such purpose, and to expedite the operation
thereof. In this improved machine the clay or other material in their
raw, original, or prepared state are put into a reservoir, feeder, pug-
mill or mills, herein-after called the mill, and after being well mixed
are forced through one or more opening or openings into a strong frame
or box, or confined space; said frame or box, hereafter called the box,
acting with plunger and mould frame hereafter described is an important
feature in my Invention. The box consists of four closed sides, open
top and bottom, with or without a division or divisions; it is strongly
bolted down to the top of the bed plate, such bed plate also forming a
bottom to said box; the top of this said box is fitted by the plunger.
The box has a hole or opening in each two opposite sides, corresponding
with the orifice in the mill through which the clay is forced; there is
also an opening in each of the other two opposite sides of the box in
and through which the mould frame works, the sides of the box
forming guides for said mould frame. The mould frame is made in size
and shape suitable for the size and shape of the articles required. The
number of moulds that can be used in one frame will depend on the
size, two or more; for an ordinary sized brick I generally use four
moulds in one frame, two and two abreast; this frame slides on the top
of the bed plate or on rollers therein. The openings in the box through
which the mould frame works must be just large enough for that
purpose, and the openings in the sides of the box through which the
materials pass must be sufficiently high from top of the bed plate to
allow the clay or materials to pass on to the top of the mould frame.
The plunger is the same size as the interior of the box and carefully
fitted into it, the box forming a guide for the correct action of the
plunger, which is made to pass over the division or divisions in the box,
thereby forming twin plungers with one movement. In the mould
frame the moulds are open top and bottom, the bed plate of the machine

page_text: forming the bottom of the moulds; said mould frame has a reciprocating
motion given by a peculiarly formed cam, described hereafter. One
half the mould frame containing moulds for two bricks is at rest for a
given time on the top of the bed plate within the box; the other half of
the frame containing the other two moulds overhang one side of the
bed plate, outside the box; the plunger actuated by an eccentric and
connecting rod descends and forces the clay or other material into the
two moulds now at rest inside the box; and when the eccentric has
passed the lower centre and the plunger has commenced to return, the
mould frame is drawn forward by the novel shaped drum cam before
mentioned, which is timed for the purpose. This cam is keyed on to the
proper shaft; it has a groove in the surface in which a roller on a pin
attached by a connecting rod to the mould frame works. The groove in
this cam is timed so that a given part of it is parallel with the revolution
of the shaft, and thereby forms a rest to the mould frame; the groove
now takes an angle across the surface of the cam, drawing the mould
from prescribed distance to another place of rest, after which another
angle across the cam contrariwise pushes the mould frame back to its
first position. The mould frame thus acted upon is drawn with the two
newly made bricks out of the box and off the bed plate overhanging it
on the other side, and the two empty moulds are brought into their
place within the box, when the plunger is ready again to descend and
force the fresh clay into the second two moulds, at the same time the
two bricks first made are pushed out of the moulds on to an endless
band by the discharging plungers. These plungers are fixed outside
each end of the box, directly over the two moulds in the end of the
mould frame overhanging the bed plate; they are actuated each by a
cam of the same shape, but smaller, as that already described. These
cams are timed with the eccentric and plunger in the box so as to perform
their part correctly. The discharging plungers are connected by guide.
rods and cross heads, having pins and rollers on them to traverse the
grooves in the cams; at the right time they descend into and to the
bottom of the moulds, forcing the bricks out of said moulds on to the
endless bands; they then return to their place of rest, cleaning the
moulds as they pass through them to await their next action. The first
made bricks being discharged from the moulds, and the second two
being now made, the cam pushes the mould frame back to its former
position with the second made two bricks in the moulds overhanging the
bed plate on the opposite side, under the discharging plungers fixed on

page_text: that side of the box, when they descend and push these bricks out of the
moulds on to an endless band to be carried to any required point; the
action of the last-mentioned discharging plungers is the same as that for
those already described.
Such being the nature of my Invention, I will now describe in what
manner the same is performed by reference to the accompanying
Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side sectional elevation of the machine;
Fig. 2 is a side elevation; Fig. 3 is an end view with the outer wheels
connecting the upper with the lower main shaft; Fig. 4 is an end
elevation; Fig. 5 is a plan sketch of the mould frame. The letters in
each Figure refer to the same parts of the machine.
In Fig. 1 A is the pugmill, the shaft, blades, and connections; C, the
driving pullies keyed on to the upper main shaft O; D, wheels that
drive the pugmill; E, wheels that connect the upper and lower main
shafts; F, drum-shaped grooved cam giving reciprocating motion to
mould frame keyed on to shaft F; G is the bed plate of the machine;
H shews sections of two sides of the box being guides for the plunger;
I is the plunger and eccentric with connecting strap at the top of stroke;
J is a side view of half the mould frame; K is a side view of the other
half of mould frame; j shews the rod, pin, and roller connecting the
mould frame with the cam F; L is discharging plungers, guide rods,
cross heads, pins, and rollers; M, cams and wheels which work the dis-
charging plungers; N, drums on two small shafts for driving the endless
bands; O, wheel on lower main shaft F which drives corresponding
wheels on small shafts N. Fig. 3, B, B, two pugmills, one on each side
of the machine; P, bricks in transit; Q, two slides for regulating the
supply of clay; R, openings in pugmills and the box for passage of the
clay from pugmills into the box under the plunger; S is the general
frame of the machine.
Having thus described the machine, I will now point out the mode of
working. Clay is put into the pugmills A or B, B, and motion is given
to the machine by the pullies C. When the clay is thoroughly mixed
by the various blades, it is by them forced through the openings R into
the box H on to top of the moulds J, now at rest and underneath
the plunger I; the eccentric now drives down the plunger I to a
regulated distance nearly on to the top of the moulds J, and forces the
clay into them and on to the top of the bed plate G; as soon as the

page_text: eccentric has passed the lower centre and the pressure is thereby taken
off the clay, the roller on the pin in the connecting rod j is pressed by
the inclined groove in cam F, which draws the filled moulds J out of the
box and off the bed plate underneath the discharging plungers L, and
at the same time draws the empty moulds K into the box under the
plunger I; a fresh supply of clay being ready the plunger I again
descends and forces it into the moulds K, at the same time the dis-
charging plungers L descend and push the bricks out of the moulds J on
to the endless band N below them; these plungers having discharged the
bricks and well cleaned the moulds at the same time, return to their
place of rest to await their next action; the eccentric having again
passed the lower centre, and the plunger I beginning to rise, the next
incline in the cam F forces the mould frame back to its first position, K
being outside of the box, off and overhanging the opposite side of the
bed plate, there to be discharged by plungers L in the same way as
already mentioned, and the moulds J are on the bed plate to be refilled.
Thus a continuous and rapid mode of making bricks is carried on by
filling the moulds on the top of the bed plate, and discharging them at
the same time on either side of the bed plate.
The apparatus I have described, as above, may be varied as regards
the shape of the mould, the vertical sides of which may be fluted; also
the plunger may have an ornamental surface, or be suitably fitted so as
to make an impression on or perforations through the brick.
The above apparatus may be adapted not only for the ordinary
description of bricks and tiles, but for making blocks or lumps of
materials naturally cohesive under pressure, or rendered cohesive arti-
ficially, as for instance artificial stone, small coal, and peat for fuel.
Having now described the nature of my Invention of improved
machinery for making bricks, tiles, and other articles, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would remark that I do not claim
as of my Invention the pugmill, or the exclusive use of any of the
several parts of the apparatus herein-before described, except when the
same are adapted and applied in and for the construction of such
apparatus; and I hereby declare that I claim as my Invention,―
First. Improved machinery for making bricks and other articles, in
which is a box with openings on each side in combination with a
plunger, as above described.

page_text: Second. The mould frame in which the clay or other material is filled
into and discharged from moulds by plungers actuated and timed by
cam surfaces, as above described.
Thirdly. The combination of apparatus in which clay and other
material is forced into, compressed in, and discharged from moulds
continuously, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Gathercole, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
JAMES GATHERCOLE. (L.S.)