IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND TILES." MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND TILES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Richardson, of Oldham, in the County
of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND TILES."
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND TILES."
Sealed the 18th September 1868, and dated the 19th March 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Richardson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th March 1868.
I, WILLIAM RICHARDSON, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND TILES,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention refers to machines used in the manufacture of bricks
and tiles from crude or untempered clay and on the principle of that
machinery for which Letters Patent were granted to Arad Woodworth,
dated 12th Jan 1852, No. 13,918.
My first improvement relates to the apparatus for feeding the
moulds in which the articles are pressed, and consists in forming a
preparatory brick or tile to be transferred to the mould in which the

page_text: pressure is given, the object being to secure uniform masses of material
for the rams to act upon. I propose to employ a hopper, which delivers
the clay into a preparatory charger situate above another into which
the material is forced by a weight or other constant power; this
second charger then moves forward, and the material is delivered to the
mould in which it is to be pressed. I propose to use an ordinary
strickle for each of the chargers above mentioned.
Secondly. I propose in machines of the above-mentioned description
to form perforated bricks or tiles. For this purpose I employ pins
projecting through the bottom part of the mould and carried by bars
which extend through slots formed in the block of the said bottom
mould or piston, and by these means it is at liberty to rise and
discharge the moulded article.
Thirdly. I lubricate the surface of the moulds by a water pipe, the
supply to which is regulated by the action of the charger piston or
other moving part of the machine, and this pipe I propose to cover
with flannel or similar material, which wipes the surface of the mould
on its descent with the bottom piston. The supply of water I propose
to obtain from a boiler under pressure, and thus the moulds are at the
same time lubricated and heated.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Richardson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th September 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
RICHARDSON, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-.
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Richardson, Her special
license that I, the said William Richardson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Richardson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter.

page_text: 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND TILES,"
upon the condition, amongst others, that I, the said William Richardson,
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 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 Richardson, 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 and accompanying Drawings, that is to
say:―
My Invention refers to machines used in the manufacture of bricks
and tiles from crude or untempered clay and on the principle of that
machinery for which Letters Patent were granted to Arad Woodworth
dated Twelfth January, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-two,
Number 13,918.
My first improvement relates to the apparatus for feeding the
moulds in which the articles are pressed, and consists in forming a
preparatory brick or tile to be transferred to the mould in which the
pressure is given, the object being to secure uniform masses of material
for the rams to act upon.
Secondly. In machines of the above-named description I form
perforated bricks or tiles.
Thirdly. I lubricate the surfaces of the moulds by a water or steam
pipe, the supply to which is regulated by the action of the charger,
piston, or other moving part of the machine; and I obtain the supply
from a boiler under pressure, by which means the moulds are at the
same time lubricated and heated.
The first part of my Invention is shewn at Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, they
being respectively side elevation in section, partial end view, and
detached views of the charger and parts connected therewith; and
I will in the first place point out the ordinary leading parts of the

page_text: machine, in order to connect my Invention therewith. The top cam
shaft is at 1 and the lower cam shaft at 2, connected together by the
toothed wheels 3, 4. The upper piston for pressing the clay in the
mould 5 is at 6, and the lower piston for forcing upward the bottom
of the mould is at 7. The Drawing shews the mould 5 as furnished
with pins for making perforated bricks according to another part of
my Invention, but these pins may at present be disregarded, assuming
the said mould to be formed for ordinary plain bricks. At 8 is the
hopper in which the material intended to form the bricks or tiles is
placed, and beneath which is a charger 9, having an extended part 10
which closes the bottom of the hopper when the said charger is in the
position shewn. At 11, 11, are projecting parts formed upon the
frame 12, and projecting into grooves formed in the charger, so as
to constitute guides on which the said charger may move to and fro.
Beneath the part 10 are jointed rods 13, connected at their other
ends to levers 14, which upon a shaft 14* provided with a toothed
segment 15 in gear with another 16 upon a lever 17, 17*, mounted on
a shaft 18. The end of the lever 17* carries a roller 18, which
presses against and is acted upon at intervals, as hereafter to be
mentioned, by the cam 19 on the lower cam shaft 2. Beneath the
charger 9 is another charger 20, and which may be considered as that
usually employed, as its office is to deliver the material to the moulds ;
this charger, like the other, has an elongated part 21, and is guided
by parts 22 projecting from the frame 12, and it has a jointed rod 23,
the other end of which is connected to a lever 24 mounted upon the
shaft 18. At 25 is a projecting part of the framework, between which
and the open bottom of the charger 20 is a plate 26, jointed to a rod 38,
which at its other end is connected a bell-crank lever 39, 39*, the
arm 39* of which carries a weight 40. Beneath the extended part 21
of the charger are jointed catches 27 (see Fig. 3) which as the said
charger moves forward arrive in contract with the end of the plate 26,
so as to cause the two to move forward together. Upon the ram 29
are brackets as at 30 provided with bosses, within which are loose
rods 31 carrying at their lower ends pistons 32, one for each division
of the charger, and situate at times within the said charger 9, as shewn
in the Drawing. The upper part of each loose rod 31 has a projecting
part 33, so that when the ram 29 rises the brackets 30 come in contact
with the parts 33 and raise the pistons 32 clear of the divisions of the
charger.

page_text: The ordinary operation of the machine would be as follows:-
Supposing, as is usual, that the charger 32 received its material
direct from the hopper, and that there was no plate 26, according to
the positions of the parts as shewn in the Drawings and as ordinarily
practised the ram has effected its blows upon the material, which is now
receiving its final squeeze by the depression of the top piston 6 and the
raising of the lower piston 7 by means of the cams 34, 35. When
this has been effected the ram 29 and its piston 6 will be raised by the
cam 36, and the bottom piston 7 will be caused to rise by means
of the cam 37, so as to thrust upward the moulded article. The
cam 19 then arrives in contact with the roller 18, thereby causing
the levers 17 to turn upon their centre and thrust forward the
charger 20 through the medium of the rod 23, whereby the pressed
articles will be pushed forward and the clay will be delivered into
the mould 5 through the open end of the charger 20 to be pressed
by the blows of the ram 29 and cams 34, 35, as usual. The
above description points out the ordinary operation of the machine in
its leading points, in order that I may connect my Invention there-
with, and it assumes, as before mentioned, that the charger 20 receives
the material direct from the hopper 8, and that the plate 26 is not
adapted.
According to my Invention the following variation will take place
The aforesaid rising of the ram 29 will cause the brackets 30 to
arrive in contact with the parts 33, by which means the loose rods 31
will be lifted and the pistons 32 will be raised clear of the charger.
The part 19 of the cam now coming into operation against the
roller 18 will, as before mentioned, turn the levers 17, 24, so as to
cause them to carry forward the charger 20 in the usual manner, but
the consequent turning of the shaft 18 will by means of the toothed
segments 15, 16, cause the shaft 14* to be turned, and the levers 14
moving therewith will through the rods 13 draw backward the charger 9
until it is beneath the opened end of the hopper 8, and it will thus
receive a charge of material. During the above-mentioned moving
forward of the charger 20 to deliver the material to the moulds the
catches 27 arrive in contact with the plate 26, and carry it forward,
so as to constitute a bottom for the said charger, but when the position
has been attained for delivering the material to the mould, inclines on
the ends of the catches 27 arrive in contact with the part 25, whereby
the said catches are turned upon their centres free of the plate 26,

page_text: which is then suddenly withdrawn by the weight 40, and the material
falls at once into the mould. The further revolution of the cam 19
now permits the levers 17, 24, to turn in the opposite direction to
that above described, and while the articles are pressed in the usual
manner the said turning of the levers 17, 24, will slide back the
charger 20 to the position shewn, while at the same time the toothed
segments 15, 16, will move the upper charger 9 from beneath the
hopper also into the position shewn, thereby causing it to deliver the
material it has received from the hopper into the lower charger 20.
In order, however, to secure this the piston 32 is adapted, and the
descent of the ram 29 will cause the bracket 30 to leave the part 33, so
as to allow the said piston to fall and thrust forward the material should
it adhere to the charger 9. It might sometimes happen that the
plate 26 failed to be carried back by the weight 40, when the ram
was about to descend. To provide for this I place a tappet 41 on the
wheel 4, which if the lever 39, 39*, has not fallen over arrives in
contact with a projection 42 on the shaft of the lever 39, 39*, and
thus effects a drawing back of the plate 26. At 60 is a strickle
acting by its own weight for the purpose of gauging the material in the
charger 9.
The next part of my Invention is shewn in the detached views
Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, in which 50 represents the bottom piston, and which
has to move upward for effecting the pressure upon the material and
for subsequently discharging the moulded articles. This piston is
formed with a series of slots 44 extending across it, two for the breadth
of each brick, and within these slots are situate cross bars 45, attached
by means of bolts 46 to the stationary framework 47 of the machine.
At 48 is a series of pins formed with enlarged parts 49, which pass
through the moveable piston 50, and provided with shoulders, which
rest upon the bars 45, to which they are secured at bottom by dove-
tails 51. At 52 are the mould boxes carried by the stationary
framework 47, and into which the pins 48 project. At 53 are plates
constituting faces of the top piston, and virtually forming a portion
thereof. The material having been delivered to the moulds by ordinary
means or by the method above described in reference to my Invention,
the articles are moulded by the percussive force of the ram and by the
squeezing action of the pistons, as usual and as above alluded to,
after which the upward motion of the lower piston 50 will raise the
pressed article with the required perforations formed by the series of

page_text: pins 48.
The angular lines 54, 55, shew that the surfaces 56 are
bevelled off in order to guide away any material that may fall from the
mould boxes.
The next part of my Invention is shewn at Figs. 5 and 6 before
referred to, and also at the detached view, Fig. 9. Within the bottom
piston 50 I form grooves as at 57, and extending at the upper ends
around the same, and within these grooves I place pipes 58 perforated
with a quantity of small holes covered with flannel or similar material.
The pipes 58 are conducted downward, and each end is provided with
a tube of india-rubber or other flexible material 59%; one of these ends
I supply with steam or with water under steam pressure, and the
other constitutes an outlet; and I adapt a stop tap to the inlet end,
which is governed by means of a lever, chain, or other ordinary apparatus
connected to the piston or other moving part of the machine. As the
piston moves up to discharge the moulded article the tap is turned so
as to admit steam or water to the pipe 58, and this by passing through
the orifices therein lubricates the sides of the mould, and the steam or
heated water imparts heat to the moulds. On the return motion of the
piston the tap is closed by a weighted lever.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I
desire it to be understood that I claim as secured to me under the
above in part recited Letters Patent,-
Firstly. The use of a supplementary charger for conveying the material
from the hopper to that charger which delivers it to the mould.
Secondly. The use of pins for forming perforated bricks or tiles
passing loosely through the piston, and fixed to stationary bars.
Thirdly. The use of perforated water or steam pipes traversing the
moulds for the purpose of lubricating and heating the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Richardson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
WILLIAM RICHARDSON. (L.S.)