IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPRESSED BRICKS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Humphrey Chamberlain, of Wakefield, in the
County of York, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPRESSED BRICKS."
Sealed the 18th June 1865, and dated the 10th January 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Humphrey Chamberlain
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 10th January 1865.
I, HUMPHREY CHAMBERLAIN, of Wakefield, in the County of York, Engi-
neer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPRESSED BRICKS," to
be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for the manufacture of compressed bricks from what
is known as "granulated clay," whereby two, three, or more distinct and
separate pressures are applied to the clay at each revolution of the main
shaft.
This machine consists of a table having one or more moulds or chambers
therein which are supplied with granulated clay from a hopper by means of a
self-acting feeder, as is well known in this class of machinery. The bottom
of each mould is formed by a piston or plunger, which has a rising and falling

page_text: motion imparted to it by means of a pair of doublo snail cams on the overhead
main shaft. Between these cams is fitted on the same shaft an eccentric, the
rod of which is connected by a long cross pin with an upper piston or plunger
which works inside a main beam, and enters the mould, its object being to
form the "pannel" or perforations in the brick; in the latter case it would
be provided with the usual perforating pins. The main beam has fitted on to
its under face a hollow piston or plunger within which the pannel piston
works, and a vertical slot is formed on each side of the opening in the main
beam, within which slots the cross pin of the eccentric or connecting rod
works freely in a vertical direction. The "granulated" clay either in a dry or
damp state is fed into the mould, and the hollow piston or plunger of the
main beam is then brought down upon it. The bottom piston or plunger is
now caused to rise by the cams herein-before referred to, thereby expelling
most of the air from the particles of clay. During this operation the inner or
pannel piston of the main beam is descending, the beam itself remaining
stationary. The distance of such descent is regulated by the length of the
slots in the main beam, and so soon as the cross pin, of, the connecting rod
has arrived at the bottom of the slots the main beam will be carried down
with it. In the meantime, however, the bottom piston has dropped down
on to the packings on the bed plate of the machine, so that the brick in the
mould will be pushed downwards by the action of the pistons in connection
with the main beam. The bottom piston having descended so as to obtain a
firm bearing, the final pressure is given as the eccentric passes the centre.
The pannel" piston then commences to rise, and so soon as the, connecting
pin arrives at the top of the slots it carries the main beam and hollow piston
with it clear of the mould. As this action takes place the bottom piston
follows up and expels the compressed brick from the mould, which is then
pushed away by the self-acting feeder when bringing the next supply of clay,
the bottom piston descending again to the packings on the bed.plate to receive
the charge of clay when the operations are repeated. The top and bottom
pistons may both be heated by steam in any well known manner, and in order
to lubricate the mould it is proposed to so construct the bottom piston, that a
small jet or jets of steam may escape from the sides thereof, and by the con-
densation of the steam against the inner sides of the mould and the recipro
cating motion of the piston a perfect lubrication of the mould is accomplished,
thereby effecting a saving of power in compressing the bricks.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Humphrey Chamberlain in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 10th July 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HUMPHREY
CHAMBERLAIN, of Wakefield, in the County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of January, in the year of our Lord Our
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Humphrey Chamberlain, Her special license that I, the said Humphrey
Chamberlain, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Humphrey Chamberlain, my executors, administrators, or 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF COMPRESSED
BRICKS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Humphrey
Chamberlain, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patont Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Humphrey Chamberlain, 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 accompanying Drawings
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for the manufacture of compressed bricks from what
is known as "granulated clay," whereby two, three, or more distinct and
separate pressures are applied to the clay at each revolution of the main shaft.
This machine consists of a table having one or more moulds or chambers
therein which are supplied with granulated clay from a hopper by means of a
self-acting feeder, as is well known in this class of machinery. The bottom
of each mould is formed by a piston or plunger which has a rising and falling

page_text: motion imparted to it by means of a pair of snail cams on the overhead main
shaft. Between these cams is fitted on the same shaft an eccentric, the rod
of which is connected by a long cross pin with an upper piston or plunger
which works inside a main beam and enters the mould, its object being to
form the "pannel" or perforations in the brick; in the latter case it would
be provided with the usual perforating pins. The main beam has fitted on
to its under face a hollow piston or plunger within which the "pannel" piston
works, and a vertical slot is formed on each side of the opening in the main
beam, within which slots the cross pin of the eccentric or connecting rod
works freely in a vertical direction. The "granulated" clay either in a dry
or damp state is fed into the mould, and the hollow piston or plunger of the
main beam is then brought down upon it. The bottom piston or plunger is
now caused to rise by the cams herein-before referred to, thereby expelling
most of the air from the particles of clay. During this operation the inner or
"pannel" piston of the main beam is descending, the beam itself remaining
stationary. The distance of such descent is regulated by the length of the
slots in the main beam, and so soon as the cross pin of the connecting rod
has arrived at the bottom of the slots the main beam will be carried down
with it. In the meantime, however, the bottom piston has dropped down on
to the packings on the bed plate of the machine, so that the brick in the
mould will be pushed downwards by the action of the pistons in connection
with the main beam. The bottom piston having descended so as to obtain a
firm bearing the final pressure is given as the eccentric passes the centre. The
"pannel" piston then commences to rise, and so soon as the connecting pin
arrives at the top of the slots it carries the main beam and hollow piston with
it clear of the mould. As this action takes place the bottom piston follows up
and expels the compressed brick from the mould, which is then pushed away
by the self-acting feeder when bringing the next supply of clay, the bottom
piston descending again to the packings on the bed plate to receive the change
of clay when the operations are repeated. The top and bottom pistons may
both be heated by steam in any well known manner, and in order to lubricate
the mould it is proposed to so construct the bottom piston that a small jet or
jets of hot water may escape from the sides thereof so as to lubricate the
same.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall
refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the same.
letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.

page_text: Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a front elevation of my improved brick-
making machine; Figure 2 is a corresponding end elevation of the same;
Figure 3 is a plan corresponding to Figure 1; Figure 4 is a detail side elevation
of the plungers or pistons and the cams for working the same; and Figures 5
and 6 represent respectively a detail sectional elevation and plan of the pistons'
or plungers, and parts in immediate connection therewith. A is the main
framing of the machine which is bolted to any suitable bed or foundation B,
and carries the first motion or main driving shaft C. This shaft is provided:
with the usual driving pulley D, and with a friction clutch E, which engages
with the spur pinion F loose upon the shaft. The clutch is thrown in or out
of gear by means of a lever G and rod H, the latter having a screw thread
formed upon it, and being worked by an internal screw thread in the boss of
the hand wheel I carried by the double bracket K, which is bolted to the side
of the main framing. The pinion F gears into a spur wheel L fast on the
second motion shaft M, which carries a pinion N at its opposite end in gear
with the large spur wheel O keyed on to one end of the cam shaft P. This
shaft is supported in suitable bearings Q bolted to the top of the standards A,.
and carries the two cams R, R, for working the upper pistons as shown clearly
in Figure.4 as well as the eccentric S for working the lower piston as herein-.
after more fully explained. T, T, are spur wheels for actuating the self-
acting feeder U, but as this feeder is well known, and forms no part of my
Invention, no further reference to it is necessary; V is a fixed table bolted.
to legs on the inner sides of the standards, and having one or more moulds or
chambers formed therein, which are supplied with the granulated clay from a
hopper (not shewn in the Drawings) by means of the well known self-acting
feeder; W is a piston or plunger which forms the bottom of each mould, and
which receives a rising and falling motion from a pair of snail cams R
(Figure 4) keyed on to the overhead shaft P. These cams each revolve within
a frame X, to the lower end of which is connected the rod Y secured by a.
uut to each extremity of a cross head Z keyed on to the piston rod a.
upper end of this rod carries the piston W (Figure 5) working inside the mould-
ing box or chamber b, and its lower end when down rests upon a packing
picce d on the bed plate or foundation B; S is an eccentric keyed on the shaft
P between the snail cams R, the rod e of which is connected by the long cross
pin f with the upper piston or plunger 9 working inside the main beam h,
which slides up and down in vertical guides i, i. The piston or plunger g..
serves to form the "pannel or indentation of the brick when a solid brick is
The
to be produced, or to form the perforations by being provided with suitable

page_text: pins when perforated bricks are required; k is the hollow piston or plunger
which is connected to the main beam h, and fits accurately into the mould b,
the piston g working through the centre of this hollow piston as shown in
Figure 5. The cross pin f works in vertical slots in the main beam h, so that
it can move to a certain extent up or down without imparting motion to the
beam h. Both the upper pistons g and k; with the beam h, being elevated,
"granulated" clay is fed into the mould either in a dry or slightly damp state,
the lower piston W being at that time in its lowest position. The beam h,
with its hollow piston k, then commences to descend, the piston le resting upon
the clay. in the mould, whilst at the same time the lower piston W rises,
and by compressing the clay against the upper pistons expels a considerable
portion of the air from the particles of clay. Whilst this operation is going
on the inner or "pannel" piston ġ continues to descend slightly, the main
beȧm h and hollow piston k remaining at "rest. The amount of this descent
of the piston g depends of course upon the length of the slots in which its pin
f works, and so soon as the pin f arrives at the bottom of such slots the beam
h and hollow piston k will be carried down still further into the mould. In
the meantime the bottom piston W has dropped sufficiently to find a firm
rest, or support upon the packing underneath the lower end of its rod, and
thus as the upper pistons descend they will force the partially compressed
brick downwards to the bottom of the mould, and as the bottom piston has by
this time obtained a solid bearing, the final pressure is given to the clay by.
the action of the eccentric on the upper pistons as it passes its centre.
pannel" piston g then commences to rise, and so soon as the connecting
pin f reaches the top of its slots fit carries up with it the main beam h and
hollow piston ke clear of the mould. The bottom piston in the meantime rises
until its surface is flush with the table, thereby expelling the compressed
brick from the mould, which is then pushed away by the advance of the self-
acting feeder when bringing the next supply of clay, the piston W descending
again to the bottom of the mould in readiness to receive the next charge
when the operations are repeated.
65
The
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the peculiar construction and
arrangement of machinery for making compressed bricks whereby two or
three or more distinct and separate pressures are applied to the clay at each

page_text: revolution of the main shaft, substantially as and for the purpose herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Humphrey Chamberlain, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Fifth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
HUMPHREY CHAMBERLAIN. (L.S.)