Improvements in and relating to Machines for Making Bricks, Tiles, and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Apr., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 31st Dec., 1897-Accepted, 19th Feb., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Machines for Making Bricks, Tiles,
and the like.
I, JOHN BERRY, of 94, Robin Hood's Chase, in the Town and County of the
Town of Nottingham, Brick Works' Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in machines for making bricks, tiles,
and the like, the clay being introduced at one end of the machine and delivered
in the form of pressed bricks, or tiles, at the other end, without necessitating the
employment of manual labour for removing the material from the pug mill to a
press, all the steps in the process of manufacturing the pressed bricks or tiles being
performed by suitable mechanism, the whole being arranged in a comparatively
small compass.
For the purpose of my invention, I construct that portion of the machine in
which the clay is received, similarly to an ordinary pug mill, but I provide it
with knives or curved blades adapted to be set at any desired angle upon their
axis or spindle, so as to allow more or less clay to pass through, and I drive said
knives, or blades, by means of any suitable gearing. At the front of the pug mill
I arrange, instead of the usual wires and the like, a box or frame in which is
caused to slide horizontally a brick die or mould consisting of a plate or mould
having two openings arranged side by side to suit the size of the brick or tile to
be produced. This sliding plate is maintained in position by a die working in a
slot below the said openings, or by other means, and by plates adjusted by screws
and arranged within the box or frame, by which it is kept up to a faced portion of
the interior of said box, and is thus enabled to cut the brick or tile clean off from
the rest of the clay. The openings in the sliding plate are regulated to pass
alternately into and out of the box or frame at each side of the machine, through
the medium of cams, or other suitable mechanism, arranged to move said sliding
plate at a uniform speed.
Supposing one of the openings to be in the frame, and filled with clay by the
action of the knives of the pugmill, the cam, or the like, first moves the sliding
plate outward which takes the brick away from the box or frame. Suitably guided
plungers, covered with flannel, or felt, are arranged at each side near the mouth
of the pug mill to deliver the bricks from the sliding plate, and to lubricate
this latter, oil being fed to the plungers through tubes from an oil reservoir. The
plungers are connected with rocking levers, and are moved backwards and forwards
by means of cam surfaces on a toothed wheel, or wheels, worked from a shaft
provided with a balance wheel at the side of the machine, said shaft also actuating
(through suitable means) the cam operating the sliding plate, and the press here-
inafter described. During the motion of the sliding plate the plunger remains
stationary, but on the cam having moved such sliding plate to its extreme position,
to one side of the machine, the plunger moves forward and pushes the brick out of
the sliding plate which, at that moment, remains stationary. The other or second

page_text: opening in the sliding plate, has now moved into the box, and is being filled with
clay to form a brick to be afterwards delivered at the opposite side of the machine
by the further motion of the cam.
Endless bands or creeper sheets convey the bricks from the mould to the brick
guide driven by cams or gearing from the press shaft. The brick guides receive
the bricks from the endless bands and convey them to the foot plate or plunger
of the press. One pressed brick is mechanically pushed off one foot plate while,
at the same time, a brick is delivered from the endless band to the other foot-
plate.
The four sides of the press mould are made separate from each other, and are
pivotted or hinged centrally to a plate suspended from a frame, and are provided
with inclined planes, or their equivalent, so arranged on the outer surfaces of said
mould sides that the pressing frame, when raised by cams, or in any well known
manner, acts upon the upper inclined planes and forces open the four sides of
.the mould simultaneously, and when lowered acts upon the lower inclined planes
and closes the four sides simultaneously, thus forming with the foot plate or
plunger a perfect press from which the moulded articles are rapidly detached
without injury of any kind.
Dalth: 6th Ja
f Manel 1007
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London, and 5A, Market Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements in and relating to Machines for Making Bricks, Tiles,
and the like.
I, JOHN BERRY, of 52, Robin Hood's Chase, in the City of Nottingham,
Brick Works' Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained 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:
My invention relates to machines for making bricks, tiles, and the like, the clay
being introduced at one end of the machine and delivered in the form of pressed
bricks, or tiles, at the other end, without necessitating the employment of manual
labour for removing the material from the pugmill to the press, all the steps in
the process of manufacturing the pressed bricks, or tiles, being performed by
suitable mechanism, the whole being arranged in a comparatively small compass.
Briefly speaking, my improved brick or tile making machine is characterized
by the pug mill being provided with blades or knives capable of adjustment as
to angle relatively to its shaft; by the construction and arrangement of a recipro-
cating die plate or mould adapted to work transversely across the pugmill mouth;
and by a specially constructed press-box having its four sides hinged and operated
by double inclines, and by its top and bottom being movable.
My invention further relates to other details of construction, as will be herein-
after explained.
And in order that my invention may be readily understood, I will describe the
same fully with reference to the annexed drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a plan, Fig. 2 a side view, and Fig. 3 an end view, of a brick, or tile,
making machine constructed in accordance with such invention.

page_text: Fig. 4 is an elevation, partly in section, of the means or mechanism for effect-
ing the pressing of the bricks, or tiles.
Figs. 5 and 6 are a plan and elevation, respectively, of one of the brick guides,
and of the means for working the same.
Figs. 7 and 8 are a face and end view, respectively, of the brick mould or die
plate, and
Figs. 9 and 10 are a front view and a vertical section of the box or frame in
which the mould or die plate works.
Fig. 11 is a plan, and Fig. 12 an elevation, of the wiper or cam for actuating
the mould or die plate.
Fig. 13 is a vertical section through one of the presses.
Fig. 14 shews an adjustable pugmill knife or blade as used in this machine.
Fig. 15 is a section of one of the flannel-covered plungers or rams.
Figs. 4 to 15 are drawn to a larger scale than the previous figures, and like
letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the figures.
In carrying out my invention I employ an ordinary pugmill a, but I provide
it with knives b, or curved blades, having cylindrical stems 6' adapted to fit into
holes in the pugmill shaft 62, and to be retained in position by nuts 63, or by
other suitable means. That portion of the shaft 62 within the pugmill, is square
in cross section, so as to afford a large bearing surface for the shoulders of the
knives b, and allow them to be set at any desired angle relatively to such shaft,
and permit of more or less clay to pass, as desired, without impeding the working
of the pugmill. The shaft 62 and its knives b, are driven from the shaft a' fitted
with the usual fast and loose pulleys, through suitable gearing, as shewn, and
from which, motion is also communicated to all the other parts of the machine.
At the mouth of the pugmill is a box or frame c, in which works a reciprocating
die plate or mould c¹. This mould is provided with two apertures c², c³, to receive
a predetermined quantity of clay, the size of such openings being somewhat smaller
than the brick, or tile, to be ultimately formed, and it is further provided with
a slot in which works a die d for supporting the said mould in its box or
frame c. This reciprocating mould is maintained in an upright position, and in
proper contact with the pugmill mouth, by means of adjustable plates e, e¹, so
ensuring the clay being cut clean off on issuing from the pugmill.
In Fig. 1 the aperture ³ is shewn inside the box c and is supposed to be filled
with clay, in a plastic condition, from the pugmill, through the action of the
revolving knives b, while the aperture 2 is supposed to have delivered a block of
clay by the action of a ram or plunger g. The plungers g, g', for clearing the
apertures 2 and 3, respectively, are located on each side of the pugmill mouth.
These plungers are preferably covered with flannel, and are automatically lubri-
cated from an oil reservoir g; they are actuated by means of lever arms 92
mounted on a rocking shaft g2, and are caused to advance and retire simultaneously,
but only one at a time acts on a moulded block, while the other runs idly. They
receive their forward movement through the medium of cams or inclines g³, on the
spur wheel g, which act on rollers go. The backward movement of said plungers.
takes place immediately after the completion of the forward movement by means
of a cam or incline g arranged at the opposite side of the spur wheel g¹ and
acting on a roller g. Cams or inclines 8 and 9 situated diametrically opposite
the cams and 6 on the wheel gt permit of the plungers g, g¹ being operated
twice during each revolution of said wheel.
The spur wheel gt is driven by a pinion h on the shaft h¹ which receives motion
from the pulley shaft a¹. A cam or wiper h³, mounted on the shaft h2 of the said
spur wheel, acts on a pin j³ provided on the bar attached to the die plate or
mould, and so causes the aperture c³, in its turn, to enter the box c, and permit
the block to be ejected from the aperture 3 by the plunger g¹.
The moulded blocks, which are alternately delivered at one or the other side of
the pugmill, are removed by endless bands k, k¹, operated by gearing ², and fall
upon the guide plate ³.

page_text: These guides consist of slides attached by links
cams mounted on a shaft 7 (see Figs. 4, 5 and 6).
rollers 1, 1, on levers 12, 13 fixed on rocking shafts 1, 15.
to levers k operated by
Said cams act against
The moulded blocks are pushed by these guides on to the bottom or foot
plates m, m³, and immediately retire to their initial position in proximity to the end-
less bands through the action of cams 16, 17. The footplates m, m³, through the
action of cams q on the shaft k carry the blocks upward into the press-box, the
four sides n of which are hinged to the plate n¹ on the cross frame n². The sides n
are then closed by the downward movement of the presser frame n³ which acts on
the lower portion of the inclined planes n' on the outer faces of the sides n, see
Figs. 4 and 13.
The camp on the upper cam cam shaft p¹ then causes the indent plunger or
ram to descend and press the block, contained in the press box, into the
required shape and size and, at the same time, to form the indent; the material
displaced on the formation of the indent exactly compensates for the lateral expan-
sion of the clay towards the sides of the press box. The plunger or ram n* now
rises through the medium of the cam p² acting upon a roller p³ while at the same
time, the sides of the press box are opened by the presser frame n³ which moves
upwards and acts on the upper portion of the inclined planes n5. The rising
movement of the presser frame is effected through the action of cams r in contact
with rollers r¹ and enables the foot plate, which is being depressed by the action
of the cams q, to carry away the pressed brick, pushed cut of the press box, by
the movement of a cam 24 coming into contact with the roller p³.
The next moulded block moved forwards by the guide pushes off the pressed
brick, or tile, from the footplate on to the table s.
The friction rollers p³, 25, are mounted on a frame a carrying the plunger
spindle y, and said frame is guided by a vertical spindle z and guide z¹.
The whole of the mechanism for moulding the block, conveying it from the
mould to the press, pressing it into the form of a brick, and delivering it on to
the tables, is operated from the pulley shaft a¹ through the medium of the side
shaft connected by spur wheel with the ordinary pugmill gear, and driving, by
means of mitre wheels t¹, the cross shaft (3 which actuates, by the spur gearing ³,
the upper and lower cam shafts of the press, as well as the gear for driving the
endless bands. The shaft is further provided with a fly wheel v, and the shaft t²
is provided with a handwheel w by means of which the press mechanism can be
moved (by hand) when required, for adjustment, repairs, or otherwise.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The improved machine for making bricks, tiles, and the like, having its parts
constructed, arranged, and combined to operate substantially as herein described
with reference to the annexed drawings.
2. In machines for making bricks, tiles, and the like, the combination with
the pugmill having a partly square and partly cylindrical shaft, of the knives or
blades adjustable as to angle relatively to such shaft, and adapted to be secured
to the square portion thereof, substantially as described.
3. In machines for making bricks, tiles, and the like, the combination with the
pugmill, its shaft, and adjustable knives or blades, as above claimed, of a mould or
die plate working transversely, in a guide box having adjustable plates, across the
mouth of the pugmill, and provided with a longitudinal slot to receive a die, and
with apertures somewhat smaller than the size of the brick or tile to be made, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose described, and as shewn in Figs. 1, 7, 8, 9 and
10 of the drawings.
4. In machines for making bricks, tiles, and the like, the combination with
the adjustable pugmill knives or blades and the transversely working mould or
die plate, of a press box having its four sides arranged to open outwardly and

page_text: provided with double inclines adapted to be operated by a presser frame, the top
and bottom of such press box being formed by the indent plunger and foot plate,
respectively, substantially as described with reference to Figs. 3, 4 and 13 of the
drawings.
5. In machines, as hereinbefore claimed, for making bricks, tiles, and the like,
the combination with the press box, of the guides and the mechanism for
operating such guides, substantially as described with reference to Figs. 5 and C
of the drawings.
6. In machines for making bricks, tiles, and the like, the combination with the
mould or die plate working transversely in a guide box at the pugmill mouth, and
a pair of ejecting plungers moving in unison, of a pair of press boxes operated by
movable presser frames, one of which moves downwards and causes the clay in its
press box to be compressed into a brick or tile, while the other moves upwards and
causes a brick, or tile, to be ejected, substantially as described.
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London, and 5A, Market Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.