IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRESSING OR EMBOSSING BRICKS, QUARRIES, TILES, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS ARTICLES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Henry Murray, of Loman Street, in the Borough
of Southwark, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
PRESSING OR EMBOSSING BRICKS, QUARRIES, TILES, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS
ARTICLES."
Sealed the 29th December 1876, and dated the 29th July 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Henry Murray at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th July 1876.
CHARLES HENRY MURRAY, of Loman Street, in the Borough of Southwark,
Engineer. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRESSING OR EMBOSSING BRICKS, QUARRIES,
TILES, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS ARTICLES."
The main object of this Invention is to produce a portable machine which is
capable of being transported to the stack or hack of bricks when they are in a
partially dried state, for the purpose of pressing them or impressing upon the top
or bottom or both faces of the brick or other article any name, pattern, or design
that may be required. To this end the bricks, tiles, or other articles are made in
any convenient manner, such as cutting, by means of a cutting table, into any
convenient number of bricks or other articles a prison of clay which has been forced
through a die of suitable form so as to make a prison of the proper section. The
rough bricks thus formed are stacked in the usual way, and when partially dried
they are subjected to pressure in my improved apparatus, which for convenience of
transport is mounted on wheels so that it may be moved along the stack in order
that the bricks, tiles, or other articles may be taken from the stack one by one,
pressed or embossed in the apparatus, and then rostacked in order to complete tho
drying operation and prepare them for burning.
The pressing apparatus consists of a foundation plate mounted on wheels for
the facility of transport, and carrying a pair of vertical standards having vertical
slotted guides cast or made therein for the purpose of receiving the cross head of
a frame which is capable of vertical motion in the guides. This movable frame
carries at its upper end a piston head or ram, and at its lower. end a press plate
or block which acts upon a movable piston which works in a mould or die fixed
on the top of the side. The movable frame is actuated by means of a weighted
band lever provided at its lower end with a curve or snail lever, which bears against

page_text: a bowle or roller carried by the movable frame, so that when the weighted hand
lever is down in its lowest position the frame is supported on the end of the curved
lover, but when the weighted hand lever with its curved part are thrown over the
weight of the movablo cross head or frame brings the latter down with considerable
force, so that if a brick, tile, or other article be placed on the movable piston in
the fixed die the piston head of the movable frame will compress the clay in the
die and imprint upon it any desired design that may be made on the face of the
piston or head.
In order to discharge the compressed or embossed article from the die the
weighted hand lever is drawn back again, and the movable piston will be lifted
up in the dio. The brick or tile can then be removed and another put in its place
and the operations repeated.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Henry Murray in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th
January 1877.
CHARLES EDWARD MURRAY, of Loman Street, in the Borough of Lambeth,
Engineer. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PRESSING OR EMBOSSING BRICKS, QUARRIES,
TILES, AND OTHER ANALOGOUS ARTICLES."
The main object of this Invention is to produce a portable, pressing, or embossing
machine which is capable of being transported to the stack or hack of bricks when
they are in a partially dried state. The machine is used for the purpose of pressing
and consolidating the bricks, or impressing upon the top or bottom or both faces
of the brick or other article any name, pattern, or design that may be required.
To this end the bricks, tiles, or other articles are made in any convenient manner,
such as cutting (by means of a cutting table) into any convenient number of bricks
or other articles a prism of clay which has been forced through a die of suitable
form so as to make a prism of a proper section. The rough bricks thus formed are
stacked in the usual way, and when partially dried they are subjected to pressure
in my improved apparatus which for convenience of transport is mounted on
wheels, so that it may be moved alongside the stack in order that the bricks, tiles,
or other articles may be taken from the stack one by one, pressed or embossed in
the apparatus, and then restacked in order to complete the drying operation and
to prepare them for burning.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a front sectional elevation of
any improved pressing or embossing apparatus; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical
section of the same. In both these Figures the pressed brick is shewn as delivered
from the mould box or die ready for removal from the machine.
Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 1, but showing the brick in the die and the
moving parts in the corresponding position.
The pressing apparatus or machine consists mainly of a pair of side frames a, a, a, a'
connected by cross pieces or bars a*, and mounted on wheels for the facility of the
transport. These sido frames a, a, constitute a pair of fixed vertical standards,
having vertical slotted guides a¹, a¹, cast or made therein for the purpose of
receiving the ends of a cross head b¹ of a frame b, which is capable of vertical motion
in the guides a³, a¹. This moveable frame b carries at its upper end a piston head
or ram c and block of wood c'. The thickness of this block c¹ depends upon the
thickness of the article to be operated upon. The block and ram c are therefore
both attached to the upper part of the frame b by screws or other temporary
fastenings, as shewn in the Figures. At the lower end of the frame there is a
block which acts upon a moveable plate or piston e, which works in a mould
or die box f fixed on the top of the side standards. On the under sido of this
moveable plate or piston e is cast a pedestal or support e¹, to the lower end of

page_text: which is temporarily secured in any convenient manner a wooden block c². As
the attachments of this block e² to the pedestal e' are only of a temporary character,
it is capable of being changed when required for a block of different thickness,
according to the thickness of the brick or other article that is to be operated upon.
When the plate e is in its lowermost position it rests upon and is supported by the
cross rods ff, of the die box f, when the rain c comes down to give the pressure
to the brick. When the ram crises again out of the die box the block of the
cross lead b¹ will come against the lower end of the pedestal e¹, and will lift it up
from the cross rods f, f, and with it the plate and the pressed brick which will
thus be pushed out of the dic box into the position shewn at Figures 1 and 2. The
moveable frame b is actuated by means of a weighted hand lever g, provided at
its lower end with a curved or snail lever g¹, which bears against a bowle
or roller carried by the moveable frame b, so that when the weighted hand
lever g is down in its lowest position, as shewn at Figures 1 and 2, the frame b is
supported on the end of the curved lever gl; but when the weighted hand lever g
with its curved part are thrown over, as shewn at Fig. 3 and as indicated by
lots in Fig. 2, the weight of the moveable cross head band frame b brings the
latter down with considerable force, so that if a brick, tile, or other article be
placed on the moveable piston e in the fixed die f, as shewn in Fig. 3, the piston
head c of the moveable frame b will compress the clay in the die f and imprint
upon it any desired design that may be made on the face of the piston or head c.
In order to prevent shocks and the derangement of the machinery the vertical
grooves in the side standards a, a, are provided at each end with blocks of
wood a, a, against which the ends of the cross head b¹ will strike when the
weighted band lever is thrown over in either direction.
In order to discharge the compressed or embossed article from the die the
weighted hand lever is drawn back again into the position shown at Figures 1
and 2, and then the moveable piston e will be lifted up in the die box f. The
brick or tile which will then be raised out of the die box can be removed from the
machine and another brick or tile put in its place, and the operations repeated.
In order to facilitate the entrance of the brick and the piston or ram c into the
die box f the mouth of the latter is made slightly bell shaped, the brick or other
article to be operated upon may therefore be introduced a second time, if desired,
into the mould or die box f without the risk of damaging it, should it be deemed
necessary to subject the article to a second pressure. The interior of the die box f
is lubricated with paraffine or other suitable liquid which is supplied to a sheet
or piece of felt placed under a plate which forins the moveable bottom of the mould;
Fig. 4 is a vertical section of these parts detached.
The moveable plate or piston c is cast with a projecting rectangular piece or
shallow block e* on its face, and in the surface of this block e* are made a series
of radial grooves which form channels for the liquid lubricant to run down; Fig. 5
is a plan view of this plate, as seen above. A shect or piece of felt i, i, is placed
on the plate e, a rectangular opening being cut in the felt to allow the block e*
to pass through, as shewn at Fig. 4. This piece of felt is covered over by a
plate k, l, the centre part of which is recessed so as to form an oil chamber, as
shewn in Fig. 4, aud also in Fig. 6, which is a view of the under side of this plate.
Through the edge of this plate is drilled a small hole j, which extends to the oil
chamber in the centre. Upon pouring in the lubricating liquid through this hole j
it runs into the central oil chamber, and from thence along the radiated channels in
the block c✶ to the surrounding piece of felt i, i, which when properly saturated
lubricates the sides of the die box f, Figures 1, 2, and 3, as the plate e moves up
and down therein. The grooved block e* may be either cast with or separately
From the moveable plate or piston 6, as may be preferred.
The arrangement and construction of parts shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 3, and
just described, have been found to answer very well for pressing or embossing
bricks or other articles of small superficial area, but when it is required to operate
upon larger articles or upon a larger superficial arca, then a modification in the

page_text: construction of the moveable frame b is required in order to give this part sumcienc
strength to resist the increased pressure that will be necessary for large articles,
such as tiles, quarries, blocks, or copings. An arrangement suitable for this purpose
is shewn at Fig. 7, which represents the modified moveable frame b detached. In
this instance it will be seen that the ends of the cross head 61 pass through the
slotted guides in the fixed standards a, a, and project beyond them. The ram or
plunger c with the wooden block c¹ are attached by scrows and nuts to a second
cross head above, and this cross head is connected to the lower one b¹ by means
of the vertical wrought iron rods m, m, one on each side of and outside the fixed
standards a, a, of the machine. These rods m work up and down in guides fixed
to the standards. By this means the line of resistance or direct pressure being
parallel to the vertical wrought iron rods m great strength is given to the machine.
I would observe that, if desired, two weighted levers g, one on each side of the
machine, may be employed for working this moveable or rising and falling frame b,
the lifting cam lever g¹ remaining as in the former Figures, so that it will act on the
central part of the lower cross head.
Having now described my Invention of "Improved Apparatus for Pressing or
Embossing Bricks, Quarries, Tiles, and other Analogous Articles," and having ex-
plained the manner of carrying the same into effect,―
I claim as the Invention secured to mo by Letters Patent, as aforesaid, the
general construction and arrangement of parts herein set forth, and also the mode
of operating the same for pressing or embossing plastic articles, as above described.
I claim particularly the rising and falling frame b carrying a plunger or ram
for pressing or embossing plastic articles, and also a block or other equivalent
device for working a lifter or piston, which will deliver or force out from the die
box the article which has been pressed or embossed, as herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Edward Murray, bave hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
CH. MURRAY. (L.S.)