IMPROVEMENTS, IN MAKING AND LAYING CONCRETE OR CEMENT PIPES, AND IN THE APPARATUS. EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James William Butler and Mitcalfe Dale, both of Bridge
Street, in the City of Westminster, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS, IN
MAKING AND LAYING CONCRETE OR CEMENT PIPES, AND IN THE APPARATUS.
EMPLOYED THEREIN." Partly a communication from abroad by C. A. Berthelet,
of Milwaukie, United States of America.
. PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James William Butler and
Mitcalfe Dale at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents
18th February 1881.
on the
JAMES WILLIAM BUTLER and MITCALFE DALE, both of Bridge Street, in the
City of Westminster. IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING AND LAYING CONCRETE OR
CEMENT PIPES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN." [Partly a com-
munication from abroad by C. A. Berthelet, of Milwaukie, United States of
America.]
This Invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for the manufacture
of concrete or cement pipe, and it consists of a cylinder or case, which is laid
horizontally in the trench prepared for the pipe, the said cylinder being provided
with a piston or plunger which is operated by hand, and which forms the pipe
from the mortar or cement which is fed to the cylinder from a feed tube or hopper.
on top. A flexible core is attached to the end of the piston which forms the orifice
through the pipe, the pipe being thus made in a continuous piece without joints of
any kind, so that all leakage is avoided. The operation of a lever attached to the
piston while it forms the pipe serves also to force the cylinder or case along the
trench gradually, as the pipe is made and laid by the same operation.
The Invention is carried out in the following manner :-
The case or.
cylinder is made largest at the rear end in order to avoid any.
friction of mortar inside of it, and so that the earth may be pressed firmly to
support the pipe when it is bedded after leaving the cylinder, as. hereinafter
described. This case is split or divided behind the feed tube so that the diameter.
may be increased or decreased at will.
.
A draw band passes around this end of the pipe so as to keep it at any desired
diameter in order that different sized pipes may be made with the same cylinder.
D....All

page_text: This draw band is made with elongated slots on one end and a thumb key on the
other, the said key fitting into the slots so as to hold the band or hoop to any
desired diameter, and thus regulate the size of the cylinder.
The feed tube which is provided with a hopper opens into the cylinder at about
the middle, and is made tapering from the cylinder upward, the larger end opening
into the cylinder so as to prevent the mortar from sticking or clogging. A piston
works easily in the case or cylinder, and is operated by a lever at the front end of
the cylinder, the said lever projecting upwards. Working loosely through the
piston head is a rod having a nut or head upon the front end, and attached to a
cone at the rear end. This cone forms one end of the flexible core, and another
cone is fixed to the other end of the said core. The office of this flexible core is to
form the bore of the pipe.
To the rear end of the case is hinged a hood weighted on top, which follows
along on the pipe to prevent its being upset by the pressure of the piston after it
has left the cylinder or case..
The apparatus operates in the following manner:-The cylinder is laid in the
trench with the feed pipe upright. A man stands in the trench at the end of the
machine in which the lever is placed, and as he works the lever he moves along
backward in the trench. The mortar or cement placed in the hopper passes readily
down the tapering feed-tube into the case or cylinder behind the piston. A stroke
of the piston forces the mortar back in the case and around the cone, to which is
attached the flexible core, thus forming the pipe and at the same time driving the
machine ahead correspondingly, or about two inches per stroke.
The case is largest at the rear end to avoid the friction of mortar inside of it,
and to press the earth in the trench firmly, so that the pipe shall be well supported
or bedded after leaving the cylinder. Loose earth is shoveled into the trench
alongside of the forming cylinder as it is being worked, but in loose sandy soils
the machine will plow its way so as to properly bed the pipe. In order to
facilitate the movement of the cylinder the front end is rounded or turned up.
The flexibility of the core is necessary in order to prevent cracking or breaking
the pipe in passing curves or following undulations in the bottom of the trench.
This core is drawn ahead by the rod which works in the piston as described. The
reciprocating motion of the core sinooths the bore of the pipe and closes any small
cracks or holes, acting in this respect like a trowel in the hands of a plasterer.
The weight on the hood keeps the said hood down on the pipe, making it smooth
and preventing its cracking in an undulating trench.
The concrete or mortar may be mixed on the ground and fed into the hopper,
coming out of the cylinder in the form of a continuous pipe. As the piston
worked and the mortar crowded back around the cone and core and against the
cylinder, each stroke of the piston moves the cylinder ahead in the trench by the
piston impinging on the end of the newly formed pipe.
The cone and core do not necessarily have the same stroke as the piston by
reason of the rod connecting them with the piston passing freely through the said
piston. On the forward stroke of the piston the core is drawn ahead so that the
On the back stroke a
cone may form the hole and the core smooth the same.
certain freedom of motion is allowed to both cone and core, so that they shall not
be necessarily pushed back, but will remain so that the concrete or mortar will be
crowded around them.
In order the better to bind the materials together in issuing from the cylinder
the pipes are made of the following composition, viz. :-Portland cement, shellac,
silicate of soda 1200°, and fibre, such, for example, as asbestos or hair, asbestos
being however preferred on account of its indestructible nature.
In order to prevent the bulging of the pipes we fix hoppers to the machine,
containing dry earth or sand, in such a position that enough dry earth or sand is
placed on either side of the pipe as it emerges from the machine, such arrangement
being worked automatically. In the case of drain pipes, for example, we construct

page_text: the moulds of a combination of expanding and contracting clamps with a sheet
metal case and core in the following manner :-
A plate of sheet metal is rolled to form a hollow cylinder with the edges of the
metal abutting, and two strips of sheet metal are attached to the cylinder in such
a manner that one of the strips overlaps the joint and abuts against the other strip
when the joint of the cylinder is closed. Outside of these strips are two clamps or
slides connected by a rod, and having oblique slots working on studs. When these
clamps or slides are pushed down the cylinder is contracted, and the seam therein
closed by abutting of the edges, but when the sliding clamps are raised the cylinder
or tube is expanded by pressing open the seam.
Having moulded a pipe from mortar (say of cement) inside of this tubular mould,
which may be placed in sand, the clamping sides are raised, thus expanding the.
mould away from the mortar pipe, and then this outer mould may be entirely
withdrawn from the sand, which gently falls back against the moulded pipe and
thus supports the same until the mortar has time to set, and this setting is
facilitated by the drying action of the sand.
By means of this mould it is possible to work very wet mortar and thus make
better pipes.
In combination with this mould a tubular core is employed constructed on the
same principle as the mould but with all the slides being arranged on the inside of
the tubular core.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James William Butler and Mitcalfe Dale in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th August 1881.
JAMES WILLIAM BUTLER and MITCALFE DALE, both of Bridge Street, in the
City of Westminster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING AND LAYING CONCRETE OR
CEMENT PIPES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN." Partly a com-
munication from abroad by C. A. Berthelet, of Milwaukie, United States
America.
The said Invention relates, first, to an improved method and apparatus for the
manufacture of concrete or cement pipe, and it consists in the employment of a
cylinder or case which is laid horizontally in the trench prepared for the pipe, and
is provided with a piston or plunger operated by hand, the said piston or plunger
forming the pipe from the mortar or cement which is fed to the cylinder from a feed
tube or hopper on the top. A flexible core is attached to the end of the piston
which forms the orifice through the pipe, the pipe being thus made in a continuous
piece without joints of any kind, so that all leakage is avoided. The operation of
a lever attached to the piston while it forms the pipe serves also to force the
cylinder or case along the trench gradually, so that the pipe is made and laid by
the same operation.
In order to prevent the bulging of the pipes we apply to the machine hoppers
containing dry earth or sand, which are arranged in such a position that sufficient
dry earth or sand is placed on each side of the pipe as it emerges from the cylinder,
the apparatus being worked automatically.
In order the better to bind the materials together as the pipe issues from the
cylinder the pipes are made of the following composition, videlicet:-Portland
cement, shellac, silicate of soda, 1200", and fibre, such, for example, as asbestos, hair,
or ground cotton (asbestos being however preferred on account of its indestructible
nature), in addition to the sand or crushed stone ordinarily employed.
The said Invention relates, secondly, to the employment in the manufacture of
drain or similar pipes of moulds, consisting of a combination of peculiar expanding
and contracting clamps with a sheet metal case and core as hereinafter described.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, we 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 corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a perspective view of an
apparatus for making and laying continuous concrete or cement pipe according to
the first part of the said Invention, and Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the
same; Figure 3 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 4 is a corresponding end
elevation of a modification of this apparatus hereinafter described; Figure 5
represents an elevation of a pipe mould constructed according to the second part of
the said Invention, and Figure 6 is a plan of the same.
The first part of the said Invention relates to the making and laying of
continuous concrete or cement pipe, is illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the
accompanying Drawings.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2 A is a case or cylinder, which is largest at the rear
end in order to avoid any friction of mortar inside of it, and so that the earth may
be pressed firmly to support the pipe when it is bedded after leaving the cylinder,
as hereinafter described. This case is split or divided, as shown at a, behind the
feed tube b, so that the diameter may be increased or decreased at will; a draw-
band C passes around this end of the pipe, so as to keep it at any desired diameter,
in order that different sized pipes may be made with the same cylinder. This

page_text: draw-band is made with elongated slots on one end and a thumb key on the other,
the said key fitting into the slots so as to hold the band or hoop to any desired
diameter and thus regulate the size of the cylinder.
The feed tube B, which is provided with a hopper b, opens into the cylinder A at
about the middle, and is made tapering from the cylinder upward, as shewn, the
larger end opening into the cylinder so as to prevent the mortar from sticking or
clogging.
A piston D works easily in the case or cylinder, and is operated by a lever E at
the front end of the cylinder, the said lever projecting upward, as shown.
Working loosely through the piston head is a rod c having a nut or head 1 upon
the front end and attached to a cone d at the rear end. This cone & forms one end
of the flexible core F, and another cone d¹ is fixed to the other end of the said
cone. The office of this flexible core is to form the bore of the pipe.
To the rear end of the case is hinged a hood G weighted on the top, as shewn;
which follows along on the pipe to prevent its being upset by the pressure of the
piston after it has left the cylinder or case.
The apparatus operates in the following manner :-The cylinder is laid in the
trench with the feed tube upright. A man stands in the trench at the end of the
machine, in which the lever is placed, and as he works the lever he moves along.
backward in the trench. The mortar or cement placed in the hopper passes readily
down the tapering feed tube into the case or cylinder behind the piston. A stroke
of the piston forces the mortar back in the case and around the cone d, to which is
attached the flexible core, thus forming the pipe, and at the same time driving the
machine ahead correspondingly, or about two inches per stroke.
The case is largest at the rear end, to avoid the friction of mortar inside of it,
and to press the earth in the trench firmly, so that the pipe shall be well supported
or bedded after leaving the cylinder. Loose earth is shovelled into the trench
alongside of the forming cylinder as it is being worked, but in loose sandy soils the
machine will plough its way so as to properly bed the pipe. In order to facilitate
the movement of the cylinder the front end is rounded or turned up, as shewn
at H.
The flexibility of the core is necessary in order to prevent cracking or breaking
the pipe in passing cures or following undulations in the bottom of the trench.
The core should be of sufficient length, say, about three feet, to preserve the bore
of the pipe against the pressure in the cylinder or clods rolling on it while moving
the cylinder. This core is drawn ahead by the rod, which works in the piston as
described. The reciprocating motion of the core smooths the bore of the pipe and
closes any small cracks or holes, acting in this respect like a trowel in the hands of
a plasterer. The weight on the hood keeps the said hood down on the pipe, making
it sinooth, and preventing its cracking in an undulating trench.
The concrete or mortar may be mixed on the ground and fed into the hopper,
coming out of the cylinder in the form of a continuous pipe. As the piston is
worked and the mortar is crowded back around the cone and core, and against the
cylinder, each stroke of the piston moves the cylinder ahead in the trench by the
piston impinging on the end of the newly formed pipe. The cone and core do not
necessarily have the same stroke as the piston by reason of the rod connecting
them with the piston passing freely through the said piston. On the forward
stroke of the piston the core is drawn ahead, so that the cone may form the hole
and the core smooth the same. On the back stroke a certain freedom of motion is
allowed to both the cone and the core, so that they shall not be necessarily pushed
back but will remain, so that the concrete or mortar will be crowded around
them.
In combination with the apparatus hereinbefore described we may employ
automatic devices for supplying dry earth or sand at each side of the pipe as it
emerges from the cylinder, so as to prevent bulging of the pipe as it is delivered.
These devices are arranged in the following manner, reference being had to
Figures 3 and 4 of the Drawings.

page_text: The apparatus illustrated in these Figures operates in a similar manner to the
apparatus hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2, as far as the
feeding and moulding of the cement or mortar are concerned, but the weighted
hood at the rear end of the cylinder is dispensed with, and the pipe is supported on
emerging from the cylinder by means of dry earth or sand supplied by a second
hopper Ŏ provided behind the hopper b and feed tube B. The hopper O commu-
nicates with a shoot or tube P, and a valve R connected to the lever E is caused to
close the lower part of this hopper when required by means of a spring r.
Two
inclined plates S are provided underneath the tube P and extend a certain
distance beyond the rear end of the cylinder A. The apparatus operates in the
following manner :-
The hopper O being filled with dry earth or sand the movement of the lever E
opens the the valve R at every backward stroke of the piston D, and thereby
allows a certain quantity of the said earth or sand in the hopper O to fall down
the tube P on to the inclined plates S which distribute this earth or sand evenly
on both sides of the cylinder. The wet pipe is thus supported and prevented from
losing its shape during drying or setting process.
In order the better to bind the materials together as the pipes issue from the
cylinder the pipes are made of the following composition, videlicet, Portland
cement, shellac, silicate of soda 1200°, and fibre, such, for example, as asbestos,
hair well washed, or ground cotton (asbestos being however preferred on account
of its indestructable nature) in addition to the sand or crushed stone usually
employed. The proportions in which the several ingredients are employed may
be varied, but we have found the following to give good results in practice :-
Portland cement, about
Shellac (dissolved in alkaline solution) about
Selicate of soda 1200°, about
Fibre (asbestos or its equivalent)
Sand or crushed stone -
-
-
166.00 parts by weight.
06 parts by weight.
3.00 parts by weight.
1.00
1162.00
"
"
"
»
"
"
The cement, fibre, and sand, or crushed stone are first thoroughly mixed dry, the
shellac is then added, and afterwards the water is prepared with the selicate of
soda.
The second part of the said Invention, which is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of
the Drawings, relates to the employment in the manufacture of drain and similar
pipe of moulds consisting of a combination of peculiar expanding and contracting
clamps with a sheet metal case and core.
A plate of sheet metal being rolled to form a hollow cylinder with the edges of
the metal abutting, as shewn at A in the Drawings, two strips B and C of sheet
metal are attached to the cylinder, as seen in Figure 6, the strip C overlapping the
joint and abutting against the strip B, when the joint of the cylinder is closed.
Outside of these strips B and C are two clamps or slides D connected by a rod E
and having oblique slots F working on the studs G. When these clamps or slides
are pushed down the cylinder A is contracted and the seam therein closed by
abutting of the edges, but when the sliding clamps are raised the cylinder or tube
is expanded by pressing open the seam, as shewn in dotted lines in Figure 6.
Having moulded a pipe from mortar (say, for example, of cement), inside of this
tubular mould, which may be placed in sand, the clamping sides are raised, thus
expanding the mould away from the mortar pipe, and then this outer mould may
be entirely withdrawn from the sand, which gently falls back against the moulded
pipes, and thus supports the same until the mortar has time to set, and this setting
is facilitated by the drying action of the sand.
By means of this mould we are enabled to work very wet mortar and thus make
better pipes.
In Figure 6 is represented a tubular core A' with all the parts reversed, and yet
corresponding to the outer mould already described, the slides being however on
the inside of the tubular core.

page_text: The arrangement of the core will be understood from the description of the
mould hereinbefore given without further explanation.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, we would observe in conclusion that what we 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,-
First. The outwardly enlarging case or cylinder A with its tapering feed tube b
and hopper b, in combination with the piston D, provided with the moveable
cone d and flexible core F, whereby the plastic material is forced back and formed
into a pipe shape and the central hole formed at the same time, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
Second. The pipe forming cylinder A with its piston and lever D, E, core F,
and cone d, and provided with the slots a, in combination with the regulating
draw band C, whereby the diameter of the cylinder is changeable and the size of
the pipe determined, substantially as herein before described.
Third. In combination with the pipe forming cylinder A with its piston D and
flexible core F, the weighted hood G, whereby the pipe is prevented from being
pressed out of shape after leaving the cylinder, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
Fourth. The pipe forming cylinder A with its piston D and lever E, in combi-
nation with the flexible core F attached to the said piston by the rod c, and provided
with the cone shaped ends d, d', whereby the core or opening through the pipe is
formed smoothly and breakage prevented in turning corners or on undulating
ground, substantially as herein before described.
Fifth. The cylinder A with a feed tube b, with its splits or slots a and draw
band C provided with the hopper 6 and weighted hood G, and having the piston D
and lever E, the said piston having connected with it the flexible cone ended core F,
the whole adapted to be placed in a trench, along which it is moved by the action
of the lever and piston in forming the pipe, whereby the pipe is made and laid at
the one operation and at the same time in a continuous piece, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
Sixth. The employment of automatic devices for supplying dry earth or sand on
each side of the pipe as it emerges from the cylinder, substantially as and for the
purposes hereinbefore described.
Seventh. The peculiar composition; substantially as hereinbefore described, for
the manufacture of concrete or cement pipes.
Eighth. The mould or core for making cement pipes, consisting of the cylinder
and sliding clamps connected together by a rod, and having oblique slots which
receive the studs or screws from the cylinder, substantially as and for the purpose
hereinbefore described.
In witness whereof, we, the said James William Butler and Mitcalfe Dale,
have to this our Specification set our hands and seals, the Thirteenth day
of August, One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
JAMES WILLIAM BUTLER. (L.S.)
MITCALFE DALE.
(L.S.)