IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING BLOCKS OF CONCRETE, ARTIFICIAL STONE, AND FUEL
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Barlow, of 23, Southampton Buildings, London,
W.C., Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR MANUFACTURING BLOCKS OF CONCRETE, ARTIFICIAL STONE, AND FUEL."
A.communication from abroad by Thomas Cook, of Sing Sing, in the County
of Westchester, and State of New York, in the United States of America
Sealed the 4th July 1876, and dated the 7th January 1876.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Charles Barlow at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, on the 7th January 1876.
CHARLES BARLOW, of 23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Patent Agent.
"MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING BLOCKS OF CONCRETE, ARTIFICIAL STONE, AND
FUEL" A communication to me from abroad by Thomas Cook, of Sing Sing,
in the County of Westchester, and State of New York, in the United States of
America.
The object of this Invention is to provide for the public an improved combina-
tion of mechanism for the more rapid, convenient, and effective treatment of the
materials used in making artificial concreted blocks, artificial fuel, and other blocks
of similar character, and for combining said materials, compressing them to form
the blocks, and delivering the completed blocks from the machine in such a manner
as to effect the utmost possible saving of time and of hand labor, and produce the
most perfect blocks at the least practicable expense. This object I accomplish by
means of my improved combination and arrangement of mechanism adapted to
heat the asphalt or other equivalent material, heat the ground, pulverized or
granular stone, or other equivalent thereof, convey said heated stone and heated
asphalt to a mixing vessel, and discharge them together thereinto, thoroughly
mix and incorporate them together, convey the mixed material to the press, and
compress them into suitable blocks; and if desirable in any particular case, convey
the completed blocks away to a suitable receptacle or to the place where they may
be wanted for use.
My Invention consists,-
First. In the improved combination and combinations of mechanism for the
purposes referred to.
Secondly. In an improved arrangement of mechanism, by which one of the
vessels employed for heating and stirring the asphalt may be delivering the melted
asphalt to the mixing vessel while the other is heating up a new charge of asphalt
to be used in its turn with the mixer.

page_text: Thirdly. In the improved process of manufacturing the blocks by machinery
without the intervention of hand labor.
And, lastly. In the construction of the heating and drying apparatus and
modifications thereof fully described heroin-after.
But that my Invention may be fully understood I will describe the same in
detail by aid of the accompanying Drawings.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a top plan view of the combined mechanism for manufacturing the
concrete blocks; Figure 2 is a front elevation; Figure 3, a side elevation; Figure 4,
a longitudinal section of the heater; Figure 5, a front elevation of the same.
Figure 6, a vertical longitudinal section of the same slightly modified, and
Figure 7 is a horizontal section thereof.
In the Drawings similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts wherever
they may occur.
B is a brick structure adapted to the proper support and arrangement of
the apparatus, and provided with a furnace F for heating the granulated stone
or equivalent material in its passage through the apparatus; a furnace or furnaces
F, F, for heating one or both the asphalt vessels, a smoke flue Fs, and if preferred,
a suitable furnace under the mixing vessel for the purpose of keeping the material
at the proper temperature for mixing in cold weather. In lieu of this last men-
tioned furnace, a flue or flues from either of the other furnaces, provided with
regulating lampers or cut-offs, may be caused to pass under or beside the mixing
vessel, or a set of steam pipes or hot water pipes, from a suitable boiler may
be arranged to control and regulate the temperature of the materials in the
mixer.
A variety of suitable arrangements for this purpose will readily suggest them.
selves to the mind of any skilled mechanic familiar with the state of the art
without further description herein. A suitable platform P provided with steps Pl
and guard rail, may be arranged to accomodate the workmen in attending to the
fires, inspecting the progress and condition of the work, supplying the materials, &c.;
and the form of this platform must in all cases be adapted to the form of the
brick structure, the arrangement of the vessels and furnaces, the nature of the
work &c. The brick structure having been thus provided and adapted to its
appropriate functions, the mechanism which I employ in combination with it may be
described as follows:--C is a chute through which the ground or pulverized stone,
or other granular or pulverized material is fed to the apparatus, said feed chute being
provided with a suitable conveyor if preferred; H is the heater into which such
pulverized or granular material is delivered from the feed chute, and through which
it is slowly passed by the operation of suitable mechanism, and heated during its
passage by means of the furnace F; A, A¹, are vessels in which the asphalt is
heated by means of the furnaces F1, F2, and stirred by the rotary agitators a, or
other suitable means; D is the spout or pipe through which the pulverized or
granulated materials, after having been properly heated, are delivered from the
heater H into the mixing vessel G; d, d, are two spouts or pipes, through which
the melted asphalt is delivered from one or both vessels A, A¹, into the mixer G
simultaneously with the heated stone from the heater H; E is a powerful agitator
arranged longitudinally of the vessel and provided with oblique blades e, e, or the
equivalent thereof, arranged in a spiral manner upon their supporting shaft, which
at the same time thoroughly mix the heated stone and melted asphalt together,
and force the combined mass along towards the discharge end of the vessel where
the materials are delivered into a suitable press I, and moulded and compressed
into blocks of the form and size desired. The blocks may then be conveyed away by e
carrier J to any place where they may be wanted; the action of the press in de-
livering them on to the carrier, and of the carrier in conveying them away, being
automatic. A shaft M serves to rotate the heater and the stirring apparatus in the

page_text: vessels A, A², and also to drive the agitator E in the vessel G. This shaft together
with the conveyor J and the press I are all driven from a power wheel K by means
of suitable belting L, connecting shaft N, tumbling rod Q, beveled gear R, and
shafting S, S, or other suitable mechanism.
The arrangement of the mixing vessel G at right angles to the heater H and
vessels A, A¹, is obviously not necessary, nor is the arrangement of the conveyor J
parallel to said vessels, but they may be arranged in any manner which in any
particular manufactory will be most convenient for all the purposes required. The
passage of the materials into, through, or from the heater H from the vessels
A, A, and through or from the mixer G, may be controlled, adjusted, and
regulated by suitable means. In the form of construction herein shown such
objects may be accomplished by means of valves and by regulating the speed of
the several shafts through the operation of shifting gearing or pulleys, brakes, or
other instrumentalities well-known in the arts for similar purposes.
The apparatus will work well with a single vessel A, but the operation of
mixing the stone and melted asphalt must in that case be interrupted occasionally
by the introduction of fresh unmelted asphalt into said vessel A.
By combining two asphalt heaters one may be delivering its charge while
the other is heating up a fresh charge, and the rest of the mechanisın may thus
be kept in continuous operation, and a considerable saving in time effected.
A single furnace may be constructed by means of suitable compartments or
flues, hot air pipes, or hot water or steam pipes, to do the work of heating the
heater H and the vessels A, A¹, and also G, in which case the heat of the various
compartments or flues may be regulated by suitable valves, dampers, cold air flues,
&c., &c. I prefer, however, to use separate furnaces for the purpose as represented
in the Drawings, as I regard the use of a single furnace with means of adjusting
the temperature under the different heaters and boilers as equivalent to the use of
separate furnaces for the purpose herein referred to.
The various agitators, and especially those employed in stirring the asphalt in
the vessels A, A, may be made with hollow shafts and hollow armis, as represented
in Fig. 1, and heated by means of superheated steam so that the heat radiated and
conducted therefrom will assist in liquefying the asphalt.
It will be observed that the operation of this improved device is entirely
automatic from the delivery of the materials into the eaters to the delivery of
the complete block, requiring no hand labor except for starting, stopping, and
regulating the mechanism and supplying fresh asphalt to the vessels A, A¹.
In this respect it is believed to differ from and constitute a very important
improvement upon all other Inventions heretofore brought into use, and the
process of thus heating and melting the materials, uniting thein together, con-
veying them to the press, moulding, compressing, and delivering the blocks by
the continuous action of mechanism, without the intervention of hand labor, is
regarded as constituting an important element of the Invention. I prefer to use
either the heaters shown in Figs. 4 & 5, or that shown in Figs. 6 & 7, but the
substitution of other forms will not be a departure from the principles of the
Invention in so far as it relates to the process of treating the materials and forming
them into shape for use.
The heater shown in Figs. 4 & 5 consists of a series of concentric cylinders
having screw threads arranged in the spaces enclosed therein so that the substance
to be heated, being fed to the interior of the central or smaller cylinder through an
opening at the front end thereof shall be forced along by the screw threads
referred to to the back end of said cylinder and discharged therefrom into the
end of the next surrounding cylinder, where it shall, by a similar conveyor screw
arranged thereon with the threads running in the opposite direction, be forced back
to the front end of this second cylinder, and discharged therefrom into the front
end of the next surrounding cylinder, wherein it is forced along by a similar screw
until the material passes into the space between the two outermost cylinders, and
ultimately arrives at and is discharged from an opening or series of openings

page_text: adapted for the purpose. This heater, constructed of this nest of communicating
cylinders, adapted each to receive and forward the material, is arranged to be
rotated in the furnace or hot-air chamber which imparts to it the necessary heat,
and may also be adapted to receive the products of combustion from the com-
bustion chamber or the hot air from the hot-air chamber, and transmit the same
through said interior spaces along with or over the materials to be heated, and
finally discharge such products of combustion or hot air into the escape flue at one
or the other end of the heater. The screw threads are attached to the concentric
cylinders, and the only rotation they have is that derived from the rotation of the
heater.
F, Fig. 4, represents the fire-place or furnace having grate bars g, ash-pit f, and
door d'; B represents a solid brick foundation provided with a bridge wall b¹.
The whole is arched over, as shown at A2, forming the heating chamber, in which
rotates the heater H. The material is fed into the heater by means of the chute C,
and is delivered therefrom at suitable openings 1, 1, whence it falls upon the
inclined floor i, i, and runs off by a lateral passage into suitable receptacles. The
hot air, or as shown in this form of furnace, the heated gases, smoke, &c., evolved
from the burning fuel in the chamber F pass around and over the heater H, and
enter said heater at the holes 1, 1, finally escaping from the heater through the
hollow shaft or journal into the chimney F³. The heater is supported upon
friction rolls, 7, 7, r, and is driven by means of suitable gearing, as above
described. The internal construction of the heater will be readily and clearly
understood from Figure 4. The heater being rotated in the proper direction the
materials supplied from the chute C are forced along through the central space
the screw threads s, and delivered at m into the next surrounding space h¹, in
which, by the action of the screw threads 8¹, they are forced back to the point m¹,
where they are delivered into the next surrounding space h², and so on till they
arrive at and are discharged from the openings 1, 1. There may be a greater or
less number of spaces h, h², h2, with their contained screw threads for conveying
the material along, according to the nature of the substance to be treated.
by
The material may be discharged if preferred at the end of the heater nearest
the fire-grate, in which suitable provision must be made to receive and convey
away the heated and dried material. This form of heater gives the advantage of
utilizing a very great proportion of the heat, a part thereof being conducted through
the walls of the cylinder, and a portion being imparted directly to the material by
the heated air and gases in their passage through the cylinder, and if radiated
immediately taken up by the adjoining chambers, and there applied to the drying
and heating of the material; the current of moving gases, &c., meanwhile carrying
off the steam and vapors evolved from the substances under treatment. The
material is kept constantly moving through the heater, and is thoroughly dried
during its passage so as to be discharged in a constant and uniform stream.
The heater shown in Figures 6 and 7 consists in mounting a volute or scroll upon
the central cylinder, the inner end of the volute communicating with the interior of
the cylinder and its outer end with the heating chamber. The heads of the heater
thus formed being perforated for the passage of hot air from the furnace through
the different convolutions of the scroll to increase its heating capacity.
The furnace and combustion chamber in this form of heater are necessarily
somewhat differently constructed from those shown in Figures 4 and 5, as the
materials to be heated are fed into the side instead of the end of the central cylinder.
This change of form is clearly shown in Figure 6, C being the chute arranged in
the back of the combustion chamber for the introduction of the material to be
treated; F, the furnace in front of and a little below the centre of the heater; and
D³ the bridge wall to prevent the ashes and fuel from the furnace from falling
behind it so as to be taken up by the scroll; F³ is the volute or scroll, preferably
formed of sheet metal wound in the form of a spiral scroll or volute about the
central hollow cylinder, with the interior of which the inner end of the scroll
passage communicates through one or more openings G³; H³ are the heads secured

page_text: to the scroll by through bolts, and perforated at intervals radially to communicate
with the scroll passage, such perforations being made about midway between two
coils or volutes of the sheet metal to prevent the substance contained in the scroll
from falling out through the perforations when the scroll is rotated. The ends of
the cylinder project beyond the heads of the scroll to form journals for the latter,
having their bearings in the sides of the heating chamber at such a height that the
scroll shall revolve in close proximity to the floor of the main chamber, as shown.
The unusual diameter of the journals, together with the weight of the scroll, creates
a large amount of friction upon the journal bearings, and to relieve this friction
rollers are arranged in such bearings in any suitable manner.
The scroll is rotated by any suitable arrangement of gearing connecting one of
its journals with the desired motor, and its operation is as follows:-A fire being
started upon the grate, the products of combustion and the heated air pass around
upon all sides of the scroll and escape through the chimney Js at the rear of the
main chamber. The scroll is then set in motion and the substance to be treated is
poured into the main chamber in any convenient manner, preferably through the
chute C at the back so at to fall in a small pile beneath the scroll in the path of
its rotation. As the mouth or outer opening of the scroll reaches the substance it
picks up a certain quantity which falls into the scroll passage, as the rotation
continues and passes through its entire length until discharged at its inner end
through the openings G³ into the cylinder from which it is taken for use or mixed
therein with other substances as I will presently describe. By this means the
substance passes over an extended area of heating surface, and is brought uniformly
to a high or the desired degree of heat. The rotation of the scroll being moderate the
substance is thoroughly heated, and if it is a substance to be mixed with asphaltum
or tar for the formation of paving material, &c,. its temperature is raised to such a
degree as to render the process of mixing easy and the incorporation of the parts
more complete.
A certain proportion of the heated air and products of combustion pass into the
scroll through the perforations in its heads as above described, and therefore
increase the heating capacity of the apparatus. The heads however may be made
imperforate if desired.
If desired the process of mixing the heated material with the asphalt or other
substance may be conducted within the cylinder itself in the following manner, but
I prefer to conduct it as herein-before described in a separate vessel-L³ are mixers
or stirrers arranged upon a shaft M³, which extends longitudinally through said
cylinder, and has its bearings in spider N³ at the ends thereof. One end of this
shaft outside the cylinder is provided with a gear wheel O" which engages with a
corresponding gear wheel P³ mounted upon a shaft Q3, having its bearings upon a
bracket R3 secured to the side of the furnace. The shaft next the bracket carries a
pinion S which engages with a corresponding pinion T3 mounted upon the bracket
so as to mesh into a large toothed rim U³ on the end or journal of the cylinder, as
shown. Power being applied to the shaft Q3, this arrangement of gearing causes
the scroll and cylinder to revolve in one direction, and the mixer or stirrers in the
opposite direction within the cylinder. When therefore any substance is poured or
placed within the cylinder through the end thereof to be incorporated with the heated
substance discharged from the scroll, the stirrers or mixer act with greater effect to
combine them because they prevent the separate substances from being thrown
outward and carried around with the cylinder by centrifugal force; W³ is a chamber
or kettle, which in this modification of the Invention is formed in the furnace
immediately over the fire-grate for melting the asphalt or coal tar, when the same
is to be mixed with powdered stone or sand, &c., for making a concrete.
In the operation of mixing the melted asphalt flows in a continuous stream from
the kettle through a pipe X³ into the end of a cylinder, where it encounters the
stream of heated mineral substance from the scroll. The two streams are united
and mixed by the stirrers above described, and the compound thus formed is

page_text: discharged from the opposite end of the cylinder, the stirrers being inclined slightly
to their shaft to effect this action.
Instead of passing the products of combustion out of the chamber through the
chimney the latter may be closed or dispensed with altogether where the draft
created by the rotation of the scroll will carry the products of combustion along
the scroll passage and discharge them through the central cylinder. The scroll may
also be provided with two or more peripheral openings for lifting the substance to
be heated.
The heating apparatus is applicable for heating and drying granular substances,
such as sand, pulverized stone, earth, fine coal, or other minerals, for calcining
plaster, drying grain, roasting coffee, &c., although I have herein described its use
for substances which are to be incorporated with asphalt for the formation of
concrete building and paving blocks.
For screening grain, coal, or other materials the mixer arms may be removed and
a bolt of wire cloth mounted upon the shaft Ms. The material discharged from the
inner end of the scroll fall upon the bolt through which the fine particles sift and
are discharged at the end, while the coarse particles fall into the passage between
the bolt and cylinder, and are also discharged at the end into a separate conveyor.
In some cases the course of the material to be treated is changed, being fed into
the cylinder and discharged at the periphery of the scroll, as will be readily
understood.
Having described my Invention I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the exact details shewn and described, as the same may vary
without departing from the peculiar nature of the said Invention; but what I do
claim is,―
Firstly. The combination of the furnace F, heater H, furnaces F¹, F², vessel A,
pipes D, d, vessel G, agitators a, E, and press I with the driving mechanism, sub-
stantially as and for the purposes herein set fortb.
Secondly. The two vessels A, A¹, provided with separate agitators a and discharge
pipes d, and heated by separate furnaces, in combination with the heater H and
mixing vessel G and its appliances, substantially as described and for the purposes
set forth.
Thirdly. The process of heating the stove, heating and stirring the asphalt,
delivering the stone and the asphalt into the same mixing vessel, mixing them
thoroughly therein, discharging them thus mixed into the press, and moulding and
compressing them into blocks, and delivering the blocks from the press finished and
ready for use by the operation of machinery, as above described, without the inter-
vention of hand labor at any stage, substantially as herein set forth.
Fourthly. A rotary heater formed by the combination of the several concentric
cylinders, containing the conveyor screws, and provided with the feed and discharge
openings, substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
Fifthly. A rotary scroll or volute heater adapted to lift at its periphery the
substance to be heated, convey it through the scroll or volute, and discharge it at
the centre, substantially as specified.
Sixthly. The scroll or volute heater combined with the central discharge and
mixer arms, .substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
Seventhly. The mixer cylinder and the mixer arms, as shewn in Figures 6 and 7,
combined to rotate in opposite directions whether the cylinder is provided with the
scroll heater or used without it, as described and for the purposes specified.
Eighthly. The scroll heater provided with perforated heads, substantially as
described and for the purposes specified.
Ninthly. The scroll heater composed of sheet metal wound in the form of a spiral
scroll or volute about a central hollow cylinder, and provided with suitable heads,
substantially as described.
Tenthly. The extension of the central hollow cylinder beyond the heads of the
scroll heater to form journals for the latter, substantially as specified.

page_text: Eleventhly. The combination of the scroll or volute heater with a heating
furnace and chamber, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Twelfthly. The combination of the scroll or volute heater and the mixer with
a heating furnace and chamber, substantially as and for the purposes described.
Thirteenthly. The heating chamber and furnace constructed with a kettle or
receptacle over the grate connecting with the mixing cylinder of the scroll heater,
substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Fourteenthly. A wire cloth bolt combined with the cylinder and scroll for
screening grain, &c., substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Barlow, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Third day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-six.
CHARLES BARLOW.
(L.S.)