IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING CERTAIN ARTICLES OF POTTERY, SUCH AS PIPES. TILES. HOLLOW BRICKS. AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Pearce, of the Poole Iron Foundry, Poole,
in the County of Dorset, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING CERTAIN ARTICLES OF POTTERY, SUCH AS
PIPES. TILES. HOLLOW BRICKS. AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES."
Sealed the 21st December 1855, and dated the 23rd June 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Pearce at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 23rd
June 1855.
I, WILLIAM PEARCE, of the Poole Iron Foundry, Poole, in the County of
Dorset, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR MANUFACTURING CERTAIN ARTICLES OF POTTERY, SUCH AS PIPES,
TILES, HOLLOW BRICKS, AND OTHER LIKE ARTICLES," to be as follows:--
The object of this Invention is to manufacture pipes, tiles, bricks, and other
hollow articles of earthenware without the defects therein which are caused by
the cross bars and other means now used for connecting the core with the die or
mould.. By the present mode the core is retained in its place by bars attached
to the die or mould, and the ware made in this manner is defective, in con-
sequence of the clay being cut through by these connecting bars; while by my.
improvements.the core is held in its place without being attached in any way
to the mould.
The following is a description of the principal features of my arrangement:-
Within a suitable cylinder, in which the clay is placed, is fitted a plunger or
piston for. forcing the clay through the die or mould. The plunger rotates
upon a screw shaft fixed in the centre of the cylinder. The core of the die or

page_text: mould is secured to the bottom of the screw, and the die or mould fastened by
nuts to the cylinder. Below the cylinder is suspended a table or platform,
supported by counterbalance weights. The plunger is put in motion by means
of a shaft, which slides up and down in the axis of a toothed pinion in gear
with a cogged wheel connected with an engine or other prime-mover. At the
lower end of the sliding shaft is a pinion, which takes into a wheel fitted on
the upper part of the plunger, and made with an internal screw corresponding
with the screw on the central shaft. When the machine is put in motion the
rotation of the wheel upon the screw shaft causes it to travel down the screw,
carrying with it the plunger and the sliding shaft of the driving pinion. This
downward motion forces the clay through the aperture between the die and
the core. The moulded clay rests upon the table or platform below, which
descends, by its pressure until the proper length of pipe-or other article is
formed. The moulded article.is. cut. off in the ordinary manner. I reserve
a right to vary the details of my Invention.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William-Pearce. in. the. Great..Seal Patent Office on the
22nd December 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PEARCE, of the Poole Iron Foundry, Poole, in the County of Dorset, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her, Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of June, in. the year of our Lord:
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,..the,said
William Pearce, Her special licence that I, the said William Pearce,..my
executors, administrators; and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Pearce, 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 FOR.
MANUFACTURING CERTAIN ARTICLES OF POTTERY, SUCH AS PIPES, TILES, HOLLOW
BRICKS, AND OTHER. LIKE ARTICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I; the said William Pearce; 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 performed, and cause the same.to be

page_text: 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, Pearce; do hereby declare
the, nature of the 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:
My Invention of improvements in machinery for manufacturing certain
articles.of pottery, such as pipes, tiles,. hollow bricks, and other like articles,
.consists of an improved, machine for manufacturing such articles in a better
and more effective..manner, than heretofore. In the ordinary machines for
making pipes and other hollow articles, the core of the die or mould is sup;
ported or held in its place by cross bars or rods secured to the upper part of the
mould. As the clay is pressed down. through the mould-by the piston or
plunger, the cross bars divide the clay in its descent; and although it is united
by the pressure it undergoes in passing through the mould, the goods or articles
of pottery are generally defective, and frequently, useless, from this defect in the
manufacture.. Now, the object of my Invention is to sustain the core of the
die or mould. in such manner that nothing interferes with the passage of
the clay through the machine; hence the objection arising from the cutting or
dividing of the clay is obviated, and the articles of pottery are manufactured
by this machine are perfect throughout, and not liable to crack or come apart
in the firing, as those of the ordinary make:..
The machine consists of a cylinder, in which the clay or plastic material to
be moulded is placed. Within the cylinder is fitted a plunger or piston, for
forcing the clay through the die or mould. The plunger rotates, upon a screw
shaft fixed in the centre of the cylinder.. The die or mould is fastened by nuts
to the bottom of the cylinder, and the core is secured to the screw shaft.
Below the cylinder is fitted a moveable platform or table, which is supported
by counterbalance weights; in order that the platform may descend as the
moulded.article is forced through the die. Upon the upper part of the plunger
is fitted a collar, which is secured to a "cogged wheel, in the axis of which an
internal screw corresponding with the external screw of the central-shaft.
When the cogged wheel is put in-motion it travels down the screw shaft,
carrying with it the plunger, and forcing the clay through the die or mould.
When the whole of the clay is expelled, the plunger is raised by causing, it to
rotate in an opposite direction, and the cylinder is re-charged.
But in order that my Invention may be fully understood, I have shown, in
the Drawing accompanying, this Specification different views of the machine,
and the details of the same.

page_text: Figure 1'is an elevation of the cylinder in which the clay is placed;
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the machine; and Figures 3 to 7, elevations of
detached portions of the apparatus.
"A is a metal cylinder, having an opening 6 made in the side, through which
the clay is thrown when charging the machine. The lower part of the
opening 6 is closed by the sliding door c, which is raised or lowered by means
of the lever or handle d. The bottom of the cylinder A is made with a flange,
by which it is bolted to the rectangular shaped piece of metal e. Holes e¹, e¹,
are made in this piece of metal, by which the cylinder is bolted to a suitable
framing. At the upper part of the clay cylinder A is a socket f, to receive the
end of the screw shaft g, which is firmly bolted to the cylinder A by the bolt g',
Figure 2. The central or screw shaft g has an external screw cut upon its
surface, as shown by the sectional view, Figure 2, and by Figure 3, which
represents the screw shaft detached from the 'machine. To the lower end of
the central shaft g is fitted the core h, or inside part of the die or mould. This
core is bolted to the shaft by a pin h', as shown by the section, Figure 4. The
die or mould i, Figure 2, is secured to the base plate e. The position of the
"die" and the core is shown by Figure 5, which represents the die or mould i
and the core / secured to the lower end of the shaft g. The clay is forced
through the annular space between the die and the core by means of a plunger
or piston k. This 'consists of a hollow shaft I terminating in a plate of metal m,
of a size corresponding with the interior of the cylinder A. The hollow shaft
is made to slide freely over the screw of the shaft g, and to its upper part is
fitted a collar n, in which is an aperture o, to receive the end of a shaft and
two eyes p, p. This part of the machine is shown separately by Figure 6.
Motion is communicated to the piston or plunger by means of the mechanical
arrangement shown at the upper part of Figure 2, and separately by Figure 7.
It consists of a cogged wheel q, in the axis of which an internal screw is cut,
as shown by Figure 7. This screw corresponds with that on the shaft 9. To
the-under-part-of-the-wheel- are fitted two-hooks p, p, which are intended to
fasten the wheel to the collar n of the shaft l. The cogged wheel gears with a
pinion r, fitted on the end of the shafts. The end of this shaft is keyed to the
collar n of the plunger or piston, and has a groove or slot cut in each side of
it, as shown at t. A socket plate u, shown in plan by Figure 8, is fitted to
the upper part of the shaft s, and above the socket is a bevil wheel v, as shown
at Figure 2. By these means the machine may be driven either by steam or
horse power with the ordinary gearing fitted to drive the bevil wheel v; or the
machine may be driven by hand power. In this case a handle is fitted with
a forked end to take on to the pins u¹, u, of the socket plate u. Below the

page_text: die or mould is a moveable table or platform w, supported by cords or chains
and counterbalance weights w. Affixed to the under side of the table is a tube
or guide, which slides through an aperture to prevent the table from swaying
to and fro. The machine is charged by lifting the sliding door c, and the clay
is thrown through the opening b, until the space below the plunger or piston m
is filled; the sliding door is then lowered, and the socket plate u or bevil wheel v
put in motion. This causes the wheel 9 to rotate, and the internal screw to
descend down that on the shaft g, carrying the plunger m with it, which forces
the clay through the annular opening between the die and the core. The moulded
article rests upon the table or platform w, which descends as the clay is pressed
through the die. The groovest in the shaft s allow it to descend the required
distance without interfering with the action of the other parts of the machine.
In some cases it may be desirable to make the machine discharge the clay
through the die continuously, particularly where steam power is used. This is
done by causing the clay to fall into the cylinder from a shoot or hopper, and
using a pair of rollers to press it through in a continuous stream. It will be
understood that the moulded clay is to be cut off into lengths as desired, but as
the cutting apparatus forms no part of my Invention, it is unnecessary to enter
into any description of the arrangements used for the purpose.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into practical effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise arrangement of the details herein-before described and
shown in the accompanying Drawing, as the same may be varied without
departing from the Invention; but what I claim and desire to secure under
the berein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, constructing machines for
moulding articles of clay, in which the core of the die or mould is supported by
a central shaft substantially in the manner as herein described, and shown
by the accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Pearce, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
JOSEPH H. STREET,
Baiter, Poole.
WILLIAM PEARCE. (L.s.)