IMPROVEMENTS IN ARRANGEMENTS AND MECHANISM OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, PIPES, AND OTHER ARTICLES FORMED OF PLASTIC MATERIALS
Year: 1860

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Carter Stafford Percy at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th February 1860.
I, WILLIAM CARTER STAFFORD PERCY, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ARRANGEMENTS AND MECHANISM OR APPARATUS
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, PIPES, AND OTHER ARTICLES FORMED OF
PLASTIC MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
Firstly, my Invention relates to a system of preparing crude clay by one
operation ready to be moulded into articles formed of plastic materials, and
consists in placing it in a chamber so that it can be acted upon by a piston or
pusher, and forced through a series of two or more, but by preference, four-
grids (or the screens or girds may be forced through the clay), by
which it becomes freed from stones and other matters, and worked or
kneaded into a proper state for moulding.
Secondly, my Invention relates to machines which force clay through
moulding orifices or screens, and consists in the application of a certain
combination of screws and gearing to operate the piston or pusher, namely, a
shaft, worm or screw, and worm wheel, forming a nut for the screw attached
to the piston or pusher, and combining with the first mentioned shaft another,
so that the two can be geared together by wheels so proportioned that the
speed or power (otherwise leverage) may be readily increased or diminished,
as required:

page_text: Thirdly, my Invention relates to. the chamber of horizontal machines, in
which the clay is placed to be forced through screens or moulding orifices, or
into moulds, and consists in making such chambers of cylindrical or oval form,
and in one piece, with suitable strengthening ribs, the door or lid being hinged
to one end, and secured when shut to the other end of the chamber. This
part of my Invention also consists in making the chamber for the screens
(when used according to the first part of my Invention), and for the moulds or
dies when screening and moulding are combined, all in one piece, and
separate from the chamber in which the clay is put which has to be screened
or moulded.
Fourthly, my Invention relates to a method of constructing and arranging
screens for separating stones and other matters from clay, which may be used
for the screening process alone or in combination with machines performing
other processes, such as pugging and moulding. The object of this part of my
Invention being to perform the screening operation continuously, or without
interrupting the process by stopping the machine to remove the stones and
other matters retained in front of the screen. And it consists in making the
screens employed with flanges or ribs equal in depth to the largest expected
stone, or in making screens plain and without ribs, and arranging such screens
so as to be moveable at any required speed, passing in on one side and out on
the other side across the chamber through which the clay is propelled, or in
front of the orifice from which it escapes, so that any stones or other matters
accumulating on the face of the screen will be carried away by it as it moves
along. These screens may be made in the form of a circular disc or endless
chain of bars, arranged so that while one part is passing in another part is
passing out of the clay to be screened, giving the opportunity to remove the
stones in front of that part of the screen which has passed out of the clay
before it again comes in operation. The movement of the screens may be
produced, through suitable mechanism, by hand or by self-acting means.
Fifthly, my Invéntion 'relates to machines for moulding (and which may also
combine therewith the operation of screening), by forcing clay through moulding
orifices, and consists in a chamber which may be à cylinder with its axis
vertical, the propeller or pusher acting upwards, the upper end of the chamber
forming the lid or door, and in it the screens and dies or moulds are fixed.
The piston or pusher is arranged so as not to come close to the screen; but
to leave a space for any stones that may be in the clay, which can be readily
removed when the lid or door is lifted to fill into the chamber a fresh supply
of clay.
Sixthly, my Invention relates to a system or method of moulding or forming

page_text: articles like common flowerpots or crucibles used by brassfounders and others
in machines moulding by expressing clay through moulding orifices, a:
machine upon the principle of that described under the fifth division being
particularly useful for the purpose. It consists in arranging the dies or
moulds so that when the orifice is entirely covered to prevent the escape of
clay, there will be a cavity between the end of the core and the cover, which,.
when filled with clay, will form the bottom of the flowerpot or crucible, and
when the cover is removed the clay will be expressed in the form of a cylinder,
which, when sufficiently long, may be cut off by a wire, thus giving an article
of the form desired. This part of my Invention also relates to a method of
manufacturing solid and hollow bricks, and articles of like nature, in machines
expressing clay through moulding orifices, and consists in extending the
moulding orifices and cores (if any) to form a mould box of the size of the
article required, the mode of action being to cover the orifice to prevent the
escape of clay from the box till it has become well consolidated, when the
cover is removed, and it is allowed to deliver as much of the moulded material
as when cut by the wire will form the article required.
Seventhly, my Invention relates to a machine or machines for at once
preparing crude clay and moulding it into the required articles; and such
machine or machines may be either single or double acting, and consists in a
chamber in which crude clay is placed and forced by suitable means through a
series of screens or grids, and then directly (or first passing between two or
more rollers which assist to propel it) through moulding orifices, or into mould
boxes carried by reciprocating or rotating tables or wheels.
Eighthly, my Invention consists in a machine or machines, either double
or single acting, operating in the manner described under the seventh division
of my Invention, in which the improvements herein-before described and
referred to under the first, second, third, and fourth divisions of my Invention
are combined in one machine.
Ninthly, my Invention relates to certain apparatus or arrangements for
drying articles formed of plastic materials, and consists in a modification of
and additions to certain arrangements for this purpose described in the
Specification of a Patent numbered 350, and dated on or about the Sixteenth
day of February One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, and granted to
myself and William Craven. The modification consists in constructing the
arrangements so as to be portable, and in having several railways one above
the other, the carriages all passing in the same direction, and in adding a stove
and flue or flues arranged to pass from one end of the chamber through which
the carriages pass to the other, so as to give heat to facilitate the drying of

page_text: the articles which enter from the end furthest from the stove or furnace, and
are discharged at the opposite end.
Tenthly, my Invention applies to the pistons or pushers used in cylinders,
chambers, or boxes in which clay is acted upon, and consists in the employ-
ment of prepared or vulcanized india-rubber as a spring or packing to prevent
the clay from passing such pistons or pushers.