Im- PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFAC- TURE OF BRICKS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF CLAY."
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hutchinson, of Regent Road, Salford,
in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, for the Invention of "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFAC-
TURE OF BRICKS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF CLAY."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hutchinson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 9th July 1869.
I, WILLIAM HUTCHINSON, of Regent Road, Salford, in the County
of Lancaster, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF CLAY," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in an improvement in the pug mill for pre-
paring the clay in the application of hydraulic or other power for
forcing tempered clay through a grid or frame with rectangular or
other perforations corresponding to the shape of the articles to be
produced, and in the application of the products of combustion from

page_text: the furnace of the steam boiler by which the machinery is driven
to drying the fresh bricks or other articles before they are taken to
the.kiln.
My improvement in the pug mill consists in applying spikes or teeth
to the blades which revolve in the cylinder containing the clay, and in
making the blades to rise as the clay is gradually worked by the blades
and teeth. The improved pug mill or an ordinary pug mill is placed
above the machinery for making the bricks or other articles, and it is
provided below with a double door, the object of which will be explained
hereafter. The machinery for making bricks and other articles con-
sists of a large tube mounted on trunnions, the lower end of which
is open to receive the piston of a ram working in a cylinder actuated
by hydraulic or other power, and the upper end of the large tube is
provided with a grid or frame with perforations corresponding to the
shape of the articles to be produced. When the piston is forced into the
tube by hydraulic or other pressure the clay is forced through the per-
forations to the required extent, and the portions of clay so protuding
are cut off by wires or cutters and placed on trucks which are then
wheeled into a drying chamber or stove, which is heated by the
products of combustion from the furnace of the steam boiler by which
the machinery is driven. I prefer to consume coke in the said furnace
and to employ a fan to force the products of combustion into the
drying chamber. When all the clay has been forced through the
perforations the piston is lowered out of the tube, which is then swivelled
half round on its trunnions to bring the open end under the pug mill,
the double door of which is then opened to allow the clay to drop into
the tube. The tube is then brought into its original position and the
operations can then proceed as before. In some cases it may be found
desirable to make the piston so that it can be easily removed from the ram
and to disconnect it when the clay has all been forced out of the tube.
It may also be sometimes practicable to dispense with the pug mill
and to prepare or temper the clay when in the tube; when such is the
case the tube may be a fixture instead of swivelling on trunnions.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Hutchinson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HUTCHINSON, of Regent Road, Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Hutchinson, Her special licence that I,
the said William Hutchinson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said William Hutchinson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND AP-
PARATUS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND OTHER ARTICLES OF
CLAY," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Hutchinson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should parti-
cularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Hutchinson, 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 (that is to say) :-
:-
My Invention consists in an improvement in the pug mill for preparing
he clay, in the application of hydraulic or other power for forcing
empered or untempered clay through a grid or frame with rectangular
r other perforations corresponding to the shape of the article to be
roduced, and in the application of the products of combustion from
he furnace of the steam boiler by which the machinery is driven
o drying the fresh bricks or other articles before they are taken to

page_text: the stove or kiln, or for drying and burning in the kiln, and also in
certain modifications in the machinery for making bricks by hydraulic
pressure.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood I will
proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, reference 5
being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 represents a section of a pug mill to which my improvements
are applied; a is the casing of the pug mill; b, the upright shaft to
which rotary and up-and-down motions are given in the ordinary
manner; and c are the blades with teeth projecting downwards to break
up and work the clay.
Figure 2 represents a section of my improved machinery for making
bricks and other articles of clay and an end view of the drying shed;
Figure 3 is a plan of part of the machinery; d is a large square or other
shaped tube made of cast iron and furnished above with the grid or
frame d with perforations corresponding in shape to the articles to be
produced, and below with lugs for the stays e by which the tube d is
connected to the hydraulic cylinder f; in this cylinder works the ram g,
the piston or head g¹ of which fits the interior of the tube d, con-
sequently when the tube is full of clay, and water under pressure is
admitted to the cylinder f, the piston or head g¹ forces the clay through
the perforations in the grid d'; when the clay projects sufficiently through
the grid the portions so protruding are cut off by wires or otherwise and
placed on the truck h, which is then wheeled into the drying chamber i;
this drying chamber may be heated in the ordinary manner or by the
products of combustion from the furnace of the steam boiler by which
the machinery is driven, as will be described hereafter. When all the
clay in the tube d has been forced through the perforations in the grid d
the piston or head g¹ is lowered to the bottom of the tube, which is again
filled either with untempered clay or with clay from the pug mill a,
which may be provided with double doors to discharge its contents into
the tube d, when the grid d' has been removed. As soon as the grid d
has been replaced and water under pressure admitted again to the
cylinder f, the operations are repeated as before.
Figure 4 represents a section of my improved mode of applying the
products of combustion from the boiler, by which steam is generated for
working the brick and other machines, to drying and burning bricks and
other articles in the kiln; k is a vertical boiler the fuel being admitted

page_text: to the fire-box through the spout ¹. The heated products of com-
bustion from the fire-box are forced through the fuel by a fan or other
equivalent, the air being admitted at and conveyed to the under side
of the kiln through the pipes as shewn by the arrows.
In Figures 5 and 6 I have shewn a modification of my improved
mode of applying hydraulic power in compressing bricks; m is a
revolving table containing six or other convenient number of moulds n,
these moulds are filled in succession with clay and brought over the
cylinder, which has a ram g, above which is the resisting block o con-
nected to the end of the screw p. When the mould with the clay in it is
over the ram 9 the block o is lowered into the mould n, and water under
pressure from a force pump or accumulator (as will be explained here-
after) is admitted to the cylinder f, thereby pressing the clay in the
mould against the block o; as soon as the pressure has been given the
water is discharged from the cylinder f to allow the ram g to descend,
and the table m is turned partly round to bring a fresh mould with clay
in it over the ram g, the block o is then again lowered by turning the
screw p, and the descent of this screw through the operation of the
rod pi and double lever p discharges the brick that has been pressed
from the mould; or instead of this mechanism the bricks may be dis-
charged by the treadle lever q. It is evident that two or more rams and
cylinders may be used in the same machine if desirable, and that in
some cases the pressure for consolidating the clay may be given by the
screw p, and weighted lever shewn in Figure 5.
Figures 7 and 8 represent another modification of my Invention. This
consists of a small press for making one brick or other article at a time.
To the top of the cylinder f is cast or bolted the mould n, which is pro-
vided with a sliding lid r, the ram g fitting in the cylinder f has a head
or piston g' fitting in the mould n, and to the ram is connected the
weight g² to draw it down when a brick has been pressed. The lower
end of the cylinder fis connected by the pipe & to the accumulator, con-
sisting of the cylinder with a weighted ram u, the water being forced
into the accumulator by pumps of the ordinary description. The pipe 8
has a tap s' actuated by a handle 83, to admit and discharge the water to
the cylinder when required. The mode of operation is as follows:-
A lump of clay, either tempered or untempered, is put into the mould n,
the lid is then closed, and the handles turned to admit water from
the accumulator to the cylinder f, the ram g is thus instantly raised to

page_text: press the brick, the tap s¹ is then turned to shut off the water under
pressure, which is then allowed to escape from the cylinder f by an off
pipe, the lid is then moved to one side, and the ram is raised by a
treadle or otherwise to lift the brick out of the mould; the operations are
then repeated as before.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the
mode of performing the same, I declare that I claim,--
First. Applying spikes or teeth to the blades of pug mills as shewn and
described.
Secondly. The application of hydraulic power for forcing clay through
perforations in the manner and for the purposes described.
Thirdly. The improved mode of applying the heated products of com-
bustion from steam boilers to drying and burning bricks and other
articles, as shewn and described.
And, fourthly. The improved machinery for making bricks and other
articles, and the mode of applying thereto water under pressure from
an accumulator or force pump direct, as shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hutchinson, have hereto
set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of January One thousand
eight hundred and seventy.
WILLIAM HUTCHINSON. (L.S.)