Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Making Briquettes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application. 30th Mar., 1896-Accepted, 30th May, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Making Briquettes.
I, FRANZ JOSEF MÜLLER of Bubna, near Prague, Empire of Austria, Machine
Manufacturer, 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 :-
One example of apparatus according to this invention for manufacturing
briquettes of salt or other material is represented in the accompanying drawings,
wherein Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section, Figure 2 is a plan and Figure 3
is a side elevation; Figure 4 being a view of the ejecting apparatus forming part
of Figure 1 at right angles to the direction in which it is viewed in said Fig. 1, and
Figure 5 is a vertical section, to an enlarged scale of a part of Figure 4.
Between the
The apparatus comprises a hydraulic press A and two ejecting devices B B¹
arranged on both sides of the press on the same foundation.
columns C C of the hydraulic press and the side standards D D₁ of the ejecting
cylinders B B there are arranged parallel to each other two rails E E'.
On the under side of the press head of the hydraulic press A there is a
removable die or cover plate G which can be replaced by others, and which is
advantageously made of phosphor bronze. The hydraulic ejecting devices BB'
have no press-head and therefore are quite open at the top, but the screws-bolts
which connect the lateral standards DD' with the hydraulic cylinders, have on
the inside hook-shaped projections a a' (Figures 2 and 4) against which the press-
mould frames bear, when the briquettes are being ejected, in the manner hereinafter
described.
The piston plates N of the hydraulic ejecting devices B B' are guided by
lugs formed on both sides of each plate, in openings such as m left between the
lateral standards D D'; owing to their height these openings allow the piston only
a limited stroke till the lugs bb strike against the cross pieces c c in the
standards D D. On the press cylinder A as well as on each of the ejecting
cylinders there is arranged a double valve F F of well known construction.
Each double valve is operated by a hand lever (see Figures 3 and 4) for
admitting water under pressure to the cylinder with which it is connected or
discharging it therefrom; this water is supplied from an accumulator of well known
construction.
Each of the moulds H H' (see Figure 5) is provided with four rollers r, which
can roll on the rails E E', but the moulds in consequence of projections on them
and on one of the rails E E' can be raised from the ejecting cylinder up to only
the middle of the hydraulic press. On each of the rails E and E' there are
mounted two levers ff provided with balance weights P. These levers have on
their shorter arms bosses which are attached to the press piston Q by the rods d d.
The balance weights P on the longer arms of the levers can only exercise their
influence on the above named bosses on the shorter arins and press the mould over
them against the press-head plate G (whereby the moulds are closed at the top)
when the press piston plate rises a little upwards and releases the rods d d.
Therefore the intermediate space between the piston plate Q and common
lower connecting plate L of the stamps of the press mould must be greater than
the space between the bosses of the levers ff and the lower surface of the
moulds H and H¹.
Each mould is lined with an acid-resisting material preferably phosphor-bronze

page_text: and provided with a compartment for receiving the loose salt intended to be made
into briquettes.
In Figure 2 for instance the moulds are represented as adapted for manufacturing
12 briquettes each, each of which briquettes is intended to weigh 1 kilogramme.
As can be seen from Figure 5 each compartment or cell of the mould has a round
steel plunger K on which a die p of phosphor bronze is screwed having the same
shape in plan as the cross-section of a cell of the mould. Plungers K project below
the mould and are connected with each other by a common plate L, so that all of
them are lifted or lowered at once.
The linings of the movable moulds are changeable, therefore briquettes of
different sizes and weights can be manufactured.
To produce a quick return of the pressure piston as well as of the ejecting
pistons, the pressure piston of the hydraulic press is provided with a ballast
load M (see Figs. 1 and 3) placed above the press and the two ejecting pistons are
provided with a ballast weight M' (Fig. 4) attached below to the press plates.
For manufacturing homogeneous briquettes of pure salt of uniform weight it is
necessary to have the salt properly prepared before it is pressed. The chief
preparation consists in drying the loose salt, drawn from the pan, as soon as the
liquid lixiviating solution has been drained off the crystals, in order to get salt
with only a certain limited degree of humidity. As during the drying lumps are
formed, these lumps must be first divided, in order that they together with the
loose crystals shall give uniform grains. All this is effected by suitable devices,
which have nothing to do with the object of this invention.
The working of the salt briquette press is as follows;-At the commencement
of work one mould is over the right hand side (Fig. 1) ejecting cylinder and the
other mould over the left-hand hydraulic ejecting cylinder and the plungers K
of all the mould cells project below the moulds. These cells are empty and
destined to receive the previously-weighed salt. Filling-boxes containing salt,
weighed beforehand, are placed on the moulds and all the cells of the moulds
are uniformly filled with weighed salt, as they exactly correspond with the cells
of the filling-boxes. After that, the filling-boxes are removed and one of the
moulds is pushed into the hydraulic press A the valve admitting the water under
pressure is opened, whereby the piston plate Q is raised and lifts the mould, till
the latter is closed at the top by the cover plate or die G attached to the
presshead, and the compressing of the salt into the solid state takes place.
When the compression is finished, the water under pressure is let out from the
press by reversing the double valve, one mould is taken out from the press (in
order to make place for the second mould) and placed over the ejecting device.
For the purpose of ejecting the compressed briquettes from the mould, the water
under pressure is admitted into the ejecting cylinder by its valve For F11 whereby
all the compressed briquettes, resting on their dies p are lifted by elevating the
plungers K till the briquettes are above the mould and remain there till they are
grasped by specially constructed hand tongs and placed one on the other on a
waggon. When the waggon is loaded, it is pushed into a drying passage, in order
to dry the briquettes completely, and then they are conveyed on the same waggon
to the packing magazine. The waggons and drying passages are of the ordinary
well known construction.
After the briquettes have been removed from the mould and when, if necessary,
the dies of the press-stamps have been cleaned, the water under pressure is let out
from the ejecting cylinders by reversing the double valve F¹ or F whereby all the
stamps of the mould, as they still rest on the piston plate of the ejecting cylinder,
will take their lowest position in the mould. Then the mould is ready to be filled
again with weighed salt, as has been described. This filling the moulds,
compressing the salt and ejecting the briquettes takes place independently on both
sides of the hydraulic press, which is a considerable advantage compared to
automatic briquette presses with turn-tables, or a fixed or rotatable circular path,
where fixed moulds are used. The moulds, alternately sliding on straight bars or

page_text: rails into and from the press and for ejecting have also the advantage of enabling
the mould of one side to be cleaned, while the mould on the other side of the
machine is working, therefore there is never an interruption in manufacturing
briquettes.
This compression system can be used for different loose materials (plants or
minerals) and is especially advantageous when it is desired to produce briquettes in
great quantities.
Having now particularly described and assertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is ;-
1. Apparatus for manufacturing briquettes, characterized by the hydraulic press
such as A being placed between two hydraulic ejectors such as B B which latter
are also used for letting down the plungers K of the moulds H H¹ for the purpose
of permitting the manufacture of briquettes to proceed simultaneously at both
sides of the machine.
2. In a briquette press such as described the combination of weights (P) the
levers ff which are so connected to the press plate Q by rods d that before the
plungers K are lifted for the purpose of pressing, the mould H is lifted by
the levers ff and pressed against the top-plate G substantially as described.
3. In a briquette press such as described the arrangement of weights such
as M & M¹ connected to the press piston Q and ejecting plate N for the purpose of
accelerating the return motion of the pistons substantially as described.
4. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting a complete briquette-
forming apparatus substantially as and for the purposes herein before described
with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 30th day of March 1896.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.