IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY AND APPARATUS USED IN DRYING, PULVERIZING, AND COMPRESSING CLAY AND OTHER MATERIALS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Weston Grimshaw, of Lytham, in the County of
Lancaster, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
AND APPARATUS USED IN DRYING, PULVERIZING, AND COMPRESSING CLAY
AND OTHER MATERIALS."
Sealed the 12th September 1861, and dated the 27th March 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Weston Grimshaw at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th March 1861.
I, WESTON GRIMSHAW, of Lytham, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY AND APPARATUR USED IN DRYING, PULVERIZING, AND COMPRESSING
CLAY AND OTHER MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
The first part of this Invention consists in heating, by means of steam or
otherwise, the rollers between which the clay or other materials are passed,
the object being to dry or partially dry the clay or other materials during the
operation of crushing. When more than two rollers are employed they are
arranged so that each roller enters between two others, thereby exposing the
greatest surface to the clay or other materials passing between them, and
obtaining the greatest number of points of contact..
.

page_text: The second part of my Invention is an improvement upon the machinery or
apparatus for drying, mixing, and pulverizing clay and other materials, for
which Letters Patent were applied for by me on the Twentieth of October
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, No. 2562, and it consists in forcing,
by means of a fan or otherwise, a current of heated air into the interior of the
archimedian screw described in. the Provisional Specification deposited with
the application for the said Letters Patent. The object of this current of
heated air, which may be taken from the flue of the boiler for driving the
brick-making machinery, or from any other convenient source, is to assist in
drying the clay or other materials passing through the archimedian screw; or
the current of hot air may be forced through the clay or other materials as it
drops from the crushing rollers, or in any other position before the clay or
other material is delivered to the moulding machine. By thus heating the
clay or other material a great portion or all the air is expelled, thus facilitating
the working of the moulding machine.
The third part of my Invention is an improvement upon the scribbling or
pulverizing machine described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted
to Joseph Lewis on the Twenty-sixth day of September One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-seven, No. 2484, and it consists in making eccentric grooves
in the faces of the disks between which the clay or other material passes,
which grooves act in the same manner, but more effectually, than the studs or
projections heretofore used.
The fourth part of my Invention consists in giving two or more separate
compressions to the brick or other article to be moulded at one stroke of a
piston working in a steam cylinder, the upper surface of the piston rod having
steps to give the separate compressions. When three steps are employed the
first gives a preliminary compression to the clay or other material, the second
gives the final compression, and the third raises the brick or other article
partly out of the mould, the remainder of the lift being effected by inclined
planes, in the manner described in former Letters Patent granted to me in
conjunction with Ellis Rowland on the Seventh of September One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-three, No. 2060, or in any other convenient manner.
The last part of my Invention consists in applying pressure to both sides of
the brick or other article while in the mould, instead of applying pressure from
one side only, as now customary. This is effected by connecting the piston
rod to a double lever, or by other suitable means, in such wise that the direct
action of the piston on one side of the brick or other article produces a
corresponding action on the other side. In manufacturing bricks this will be

page_text: found very advantageous, as by making suitably-formed projections on the
surfaces of the plungers the edges of the bricks can be made more perfect than
heretofore.
SPECIFICATION
in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Weston Grimshaw in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th September 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WESTON
GRIMSHAW, of Lytham, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Weston Grimshaw, Her special licence that I, the said Weston Grim-
shaw, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Weston Grimshaw, my executors, administrators, 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 APPARATUS USED IN DRYING, PULVERIZING, AND COMPRESSING CLAY
AND OTHER MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Weston Grimshaw, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
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 Weston Grimshaw, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say):-
The nature of my Invention consists, first, in heating, by means of steam
or otherwise, the crushing rollers between which the clay or other materials
are passed.
Secondly, in an improved arrangement of apparatus for drying clay and

page_text: other materials as it passes from the crushing rollers to the brick-making
machine.
Thirdly, in making concentric and eccentric grooves in the faces of the discs
of scribbling or pulverizing machines.
Fourthly, in giving two or more separate compressions to the brick or other
article to be moulded at one stroke of the piston.
And, lastly, in certain improved modes of applying pressure to both sides of
the brick or other article while in the mould.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me, reference
being had to the two accompanying Sheets of Drawings and to the figures
and letters marked thereon.
On Sheet 1, Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of the crushing rollers,
and of the apparatus for drying the clay or other material. a, a, and b, b, are
two pairs of crushing rollers mounted in adjustable bearings, and otherwise
constructed in the usual manner, with this exception, that they are made
hollow, and that they are heated by steam or otherwise, in any convenient
manner, for the purpose of drying or partially drying the clay or other mate-
rials whilst passing between the rollers; under the rollers b, b, are the spike
rollers c, c, which in revolving break the thin cakes of clay escaping from the
rollers b, b, into small pieces, which drop on to the endless belt d; this belt and
the others marked e and f, are made by preference of chains, to which strips of
sheet iron are attached; the chains pass over the respective pulleys d', e¹, and f',
which are turned slowly round in the directions of the arrows by the wheels
shewn by dotted circles in Fig. 1, or by any other convenient arrangement of
gearing. The endless belts are contained within the drying chamber g, which
is heated by the flue from the boiler, or by a separate fire grate h, as shewn
in Fig. 2. When the clay has been carried by the endless belt d to the right-
hand end of the chamber g it drops on to the belt e, and is carried by it to the
left-hand end of the chamber, when it drops on the belt f, which delivers it
into the recess i, from whence it is raised by the endless chain of scoops ; and
delivered in a dry state to the hopper of the scribbler k or otherwise disposed
of, as may be found requisite. I wish to observe, that the form of the appa-
ratus may be considerably modified, the object being to expose the clay or
other material to a great heat between the crushing rollers and the moulding
machine to dry it and to expel the air, thus facilitating the compression thereof
in the moulding machine.
On Sheet 2. Fig. 3 is a section of a Scribbling OR puluasiain

page_text: for which Letters Patent were granted to Joseph Lewis on the Twenty-sixth
September, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, No. 2484, and
described in reference to Fig. 2 of Sheet 3 of the Drawings forming part. of
the Specification of the said Patent. On referring to that Drawing it will be
seen that the plates of the scribbling machine are furnished with studs or
projections; now my present Invention consists in making the said plates
with concentric and eccentric grooves and rings, as shewn in Fig. 4, the
intersections of these rings and grooves form the grinding teeth of the mill,
and effectually pulverize the materials passing between the plates; the
distance between the plates is regulated by a set screw, in the manner
described in the Specification of Joseph Lewis' Patent above referred to.
Fig. 5 is an elevation in perspective of a machine for moulding bricks
and other articles, to which my fourth and fifth improvements are applied;
1 is a circular table containing any convenient number of moulds; this
table may be constructed and caused to rotate by an intermittent motion
in any convenient manner; m is a double cross beam supported on the
pillars n; the piston rods o, o, are connected to pistons working in steam
cylinders; the upper surface of each piston rod is provided with three steps,
which act simultaneously on three plungers p, p. The piston rods o, o, are
made with slots through which pass the levers q, q, whose fulcra are at q',
and to the other extremities thereof are jointed the lower ends of the rods q³,
the upper ends of which are jointed to the levers r, which vibrate on the
studs r; to the levers are also jointed the links, connected to the
top plungers, the lower surface of which have projections to produce
recesses in the brick or other articles. When the machine is at work the
clay or other material is supplied to the moulds in the table 1 by hoppers, as
now customary; when the piston rod o rises the first step gives a preliminary
compression to the clay or other material, the second step gives the final
compression, and the third step raises the brick or other article partly out of the
mould, the remainder of the lift and the depression of the plungers being
effected by inclined planes, as described in the Specification of Letters
Patent granted to me in conjunction with Ellis Rowland on the Seventh
September, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, No. 2060, or in any
other convenient manner. When the piston o is rising, the lever q acting
on the lever r causes the top plunger to descend, and as this plunger
is opposite to the centre step in the piston rod it is evident that the
final compression is given simultaneously on both sides of the brick or other
article in the mould, thereby making the edges of the brick more perfect than
heretofore

page_text: Fig. 6 is a side elevation, and Fig. 7 an end view in section, of a machine
for making bricks or other articles showing a modification of the fifth part
of my Invention; s is a mould board containing two moulds or two sets of
moulds; this mould board is mounted on rollers, and is moved to and fro along
the rails by a crank s2, or in any other convenient manner; the piston rod t
is connected to a piston working in a steam cylinder as now customary; above
the piston rod t is the beam u, supported by columns u¹, as shewn in
Fig. 7 the upper part of the piston rod is recessed to allow the plungers s
to pass; the piston rod is also provided with a slot for the passage of the
levers w, the object of which is to raise the bricks or other articles out
of the moulds; above the mould boards are the hoppers x, the lower parts
of which have sockets which are capable of sliding up and down. The
lower part of the beam u is made with projections corresponding in shape
to the recesses required to be made in the bricks or other articles. When
the machine is at work the piston rod t in rising gives, first, the preliminary
compression to the clay or other material in the moulds; when this is effected
the top of the piston rod has arrived in contact with the under side of the
mould boards, but as the pressure of steam is still kept on the piston the
piston rod continues to rise, and with it raises the mould board until the
top surface thereof comes against or near to the under side of the beam u;
this last part of the rise of the piston rod applies pressure to the upper
surface of the brick or other article in the mould; during this latter part of
the rise of the piston rod one of the levers w lifts the compressed bricks or
other articles out of the moulds. As soon as the final compression is
completed the mould board s is moved back, and in so doing the plungers
are drawn down by the bowls projecting from them acting on the inclines s'.
The moulds are charged with clay or other materials by passing under the
hoppers, the sockets of which, rise with the mould board while the final com-
pression is being given.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I declare that I claim,---
First, heating the crushing rollers for clay or other materials as described.
Secondly, drying clay and other materials for making bricks and other
articles in passing from the crushing rollers to the moulding machine, as
described.
Thirdly, making concentric and eccentric grooves in the plates of scribbling
or pulverizing machines as described.
Fourthly, imparting two or more separate compressions to the bricks or
other articles to be moulded at one stroke of the piston rod as described.

page_text: And, lastly, the improved modes of applying pressure to both sides of the
brick or other article while in the mould as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Weston Grimshaw, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
W. GRIMSHAW. (L.S.)