IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING BRICKS AND TILES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Slater, of Catherine Terrace, Lansdown Road,
Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING BRICKS AND TILES."
Sealed the 17th January 1865, and dated the 26th July 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Slater at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th
July 1864.
I, JAMES SLATER, of Catherine Terrace, Lansdown Road, Lambeth, in the
County of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING BRICKS AND TILES," to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for making
bricks and tiles. For these purposes a pugmill is employed, the shaft or axis
of which descends through the bottom, and has fixed to its lower end a bevil
toothed wheel, which gears with and is driven by a pinion on a horizontal
shaft, which is below the pugmill. On the horizontal shaft there is a cog or
spur wheel, which gears with and is driven by a pinion on a shaft actuated by
a steam engine or other power. Another pinion on the main steam or driving
shaft gears with and drives a cog or spur wheel on the axis of one of a pair of
pressing rollers, the axes of which are geared together. The main steam or
driving shaft by two bevil pinions gives motion to two pairs of pressing rollers
by two shafts and bevil gearing arranged with levers and clutch boxes or

page_text: friction cones so as to admit of either or both of the last-mentioned pairs of
rollers being stopped and started at pleasure. Beyond these two pairs of
pressing rollers the clay or brick earth is forced through moulding dies or
orifices, and the product from each pair is received on a series of carrying
rollers, as is well understood, and there is a wire-cutting apparatus to each
mouthpiece or moulding die, such as has before been employed.
Between the first-mentioned pair of pressing rollers and the two pairs of
pressing rollers there is an inclined double trough. The bottom of each trough
is composed of carrying rollers. There are two delivering outlets in front of
the pugmill, either of which can be closed at pleasure, and the first-mentioned
pair of pressing rollers are grooved in their surfaces so as to cause each roller
to act as if it were two separate rollers on the same shaft or axis, and the two
streams of clay or brick earth passing from-the pugmill are respectively acted
on by the two parts of the pressing rollers in like manner to what would be
the case if there were two pairs of pressing rollers on two shafts or axes:
The two streams of pressed clay from these rollers descend in the double
trough till they come respectively to one of the two pairs of pressing rollers
before mentioned, when the two streams of clay or brick earth are pressed
through the mouthpieces or dies belonging to the respective pairs of
pressing rollers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Slater in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th January 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
SLATER, of Catherine Terrace, Lansdown Road, Lambeth, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Slater, Her special licence that I, the said James Slater,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Slater, 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

page_text: Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY POR MAKING BRICKS AND TILES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Slater, 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 James Slater, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for making
bricks and tiles. For these purposes a pugmill is employed, the shaft or axis
of which descends through the bottom, and has fixed to its lower end a bevil
toothed wheel, which gears with and is driven by a pinion on a horizontal
shaft, which is below the pugmill. On the horizontal shaft there is a cog or
spur.wheel, which gears with and is driven by a pinion on a shaft actuated by
a steam engine or other power, another pinion on the main steam or driving
shaft gears with and drives a cog or spur wheel on the axis of one of a pair of
pressing rollers, the axes of which are geared together. The main steam or
driving shaft by two bevil pinions gives motion to two pairs of pressing rollers
by two shafts and bevil gearing arranged with levers and clutch boxes or
friction cones, so as to admit of either or both of the last-mentioned pairs of
rollers being stopped and started at pleasure. Beyond these two pairs of
pressing rollers the clay or brick earth is forced through moulding dies
or orifices, and the product from each pair is received on a series of carrying
rollers, as is well understood, and there is a wire-cutting apparatus to each
mouthpiece or moulding die such as has before been employed.
Between the first-mentioned pair of pressing rollers and the two pairs of
pressing rollers there is an inclined double trough. The bottom of each
trough is composed of carrying rollers. There are two delivering outlets in
front of the pugmill, either of which can be closed at pleasure, and the first-
mentioned pair of pressing rollers are grooved in their surfaces so as to cause
each roller to act as if it were two separate rollers on the same shaft or axis,
and the two streanis of clay or brick earth pussing from the pugmill are
respectively acted on by the two parts of the pressing rollers in like manner to
what would be the case if there were two pairs of pressing rollers on two
shafts or axes. The two streams of pressed clay from these rollers descend in

page_text: Figure 1 is a side view, Figure 2 an end view, and Figure 8 a plan, partly
in section, of-machinery arranged according to my Invention.
a is a pugmill, the shaft or axis a¹ of which has a bevilled wheel a² fixed
thereon; this bevilled wheel a is taken into by and receives motion from a
bevilled pinion b' on the shaft or axis b, upon which is also affixed a toothéd
wheel b, taken into by a toothed pinion c¹ on the main or driving shaft or
axis c, to which rotary motion is given by steam or other power acting upon a
drum or pulley fixed thereon; on this shaft c is also a toothed pinion c* taking
into a toothed wheel-d' on the axis of one of the pressing or crushing rollers d;
these rollers being geared together by toothed wheels de fixed on their shafts
or axes, the clay after issuing from the pugmill descends the double inclined
shoot or way e, having rollers e¹ fixed on its under side in order to facilitate
the onward motion of the clay, which then passes. through other pressing
rollers f, whence it is forced through dies or moulding orifices in the plate f*,
a wire-cutting apparatus g cuts the clay into the lengths required for making
either bricks or tiles, it will be seen by reference to the Drawing that the
pressing rollers & have each a groove d* thereon, into which grooves a plate-d³
enters, thereby causing the pressing or crushing rollers d to act as two pairs of
pressing rollers on two streams of clay issuing from the doors or orifices a³ of
the pugmill a; these doors a³ are capable of being raised or lowered by means
of screws a', as shown, in order to regulate the quantity of clay issuing there-
from, as desired; the pressing rollers d are pressed towards each other by
weights d' acting on levers do, which levers have arms de pressing against the
sliding bearings of one of the pressing rollers d. Scrapers or doctors d' act to
remove the clay from the rollers d. The two pairs of pressing rollers fare
geared together, and have rotary motion given to them from the shaft or
axis c by bevilled pinions c³, taking into bevilled wheels h, which by clutch
apparatus h', or it may be by friction cones give, motion to the shafts, or
axes h, on the other ends of which are fixed bevilled pinions h³ taking into
bevilled wheels fixed on one of each pair of pressing rollers f.; each pair of

page_text: pressing rollers f is geared together by toothed wheels f* fixed on their shafts
or axes; either of the two pairs of pressing rollers f may be put into or
thrown out of action as desired by means of the clutch levers h* acting upon
either of the clutch apparatuses h', the wire-cutting apparatus may be caused
to travel at the same speed as the clay issuing from the moulding orifices in
the plate f, as is well understood, in order to effect a rectangular cut; or the
onward motion of the streams of clay may be for the time stopped when the
wire-cutting apparatus 9 would be caused to act.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details herein shown and described; but what I do claim is, the
combined arrangement of machinery for making bricks and tiles, substantially
as herein shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Slater, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JAMES SLATER. (L.S.)