Improvements in Machines for Making Pottery, Glass Ware, and Articles of all Kinds from Soft Plastic Materials which are Capable of being Molded.TER AND ARTICLES OF ALL KINDS FROM SOFT PLASTIC MATERIALS WHICH
Year: 1885

page_text: Improvements in Machines for Making Pottery, Glass Ware, and
Articles of all Kinds from Soft Plastic Materials which are
Capable of being Molded.
I, CASSIUS CLARK THOMPSON, of East Liverpool, Columbiana, County, State
of Ohio, in the United States of America, Potter, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR MAKING POTTERY, GLASS
WARE, AND ARTICLES OF ALL KINDS FROM SOFT PLASTIC MATERIALS WHICH ARE
CAPABLE OF BEING MOLDED, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My Invention relates to an improvement in machines for making pottery, glass
ware, and articles of all kinds from soft plastic materials which are capable of being
molded; and it consists in
1. The combination of the driving shaft, with a suitable pulley, or pulleys, and
an operating wheel, which is provided with a stud, or projection, which operates
the slide to which the rod, carrying the shaping tools, is connected.
2. The combination of a driving shaft, provided with a pulley, or pulleys, and an
operating wheel, having a stud, or projection, upon one side, and a cam upon the
other, with a sliding spring actuated frame which is provided with a projection or
friction wheel, for the cam upon the operating wheel to bear against, and to which
the spring actuated frame is connected, and the rod to which the shaping tools are
secured at its lower end.
3. The combination of the driving shaft, provided with a suitable pulley or
pulleys, and an operating wheel provided with a stud or projection upon one side
for operating the slide, and with the cam upon the other side, with a spring
actuated frame, which is provided with a projection or friction wheel for the cam
to strike against, and to which the rod carrying the shaping tools is fastened;
a guiding pin or stud which causes the rod carrying the tools to have a slightly
ascending and descending lateral movement while in operation, all of which will be
more fully described hereinafter,.

page_text: The object of my Invention is to provide a machine for forming articles having
both straight and bellied surfaces from clay, glass, paper pulp, and all similar
plastic materials which are capable of being molded, and to so construct the parts
to which the shaping tools are secured so that the tools will have both a recipro-
cating and a downwardly and upwardly lateral movement in forming the article
which is being made, for the purpose of preventing the material which is being
shaped from being injured at its bottom by the shaping tools, as they are drawn
backward after having been moved laterally for the purpose of forming the swell
or concavo convex in the article.
Fig. 1, is a side elevation of a machine embodying my Invention.
Fig. 2, is an edge view of the same.
Fig. 3, is an enlarged detail view.
A, represents a suitable frame work of any desired shape or construction that
may be prefered. Journaled in this frame is a suitable driving shaft upon which
are formed the two pulleys B, C, for the purpose of driving the machine at different
rates of speed. Upon the outer end of this driving shaft is secured the operating
wheel D, which has a stud or projection E, upon its outer side for the purpose of
operating the slide F, which moves vertically upon the guiding rods G. These
guiding rods connect the two horizontal portions H, of the frame work A, together,
and serve simply to guide the slide vertically in its movements. In the inner side
of this slide is formed a groove in which the stud or projection catches, and which
groove is shaped as shown, so that the slide is not moved after it has reached its
lowest point during a portion of the revolutions of the operating wheel, as will be
more fully described later on.
Upon the inner side of the operating wheel is formed a cam I, which is not
necessarly brought into play while straight goods are being made, but which is
used in making bellied goods. When straight goods are being made, and by which
is meant goods having straight surfaces, only a reciprocating movement is necessary
in forming the goods, but where goods are being made having curved surfaces of
any kind, the forming tools must be given a compound movement at the same time.
For this purpose the rod I, which has the tool-holder secured to its lower end, and
is loosely connected at its upper end to the lower edge of the slide by means of an
inclined pin or stud L, so that the tool-holder can be given both a vertical and
a lateral movement at the same time. This rod I¹, is made to pass through the
guide N, which is formed upon the end of the sliding spring actuated frame O,
upon the top of which is formed a stud or frictional wheel P, for the cam upon the
operating wheel to strike against. This sliding spring actuated frame is placed
upon suitable horizontal guides, and remains stationary except when the cam upon
the operating wheels strikes against the stud or projection formned upon its top, for
the purpose of pushing it side-wise the width of the cam. When this frame is
pushed side-wise by the cam on the operating wheel, the guide N, upon its end is
moved laterally on the frame, and for the purpose of forcing the upper end of the
rod 1', downward upon the inclined pin or stud which passes through its upper
end. The tool holder is made to constantly reciprocate while the operating wheel
is in motion for the purpose of causing the forming tools to enter the mold and
force back the material out of which the article is to be formed, and when the
sliding frame is moved inwardly by the cam upon the operating wheel, the tools
are given both a vertical and lateral movement at the same time, for the purpose
of allowing the sliding frame to be moved or not, according to the kind of goods
being made. The frictional wheel against which the cam on the operating wheel is
made to strike, is made removable from the sliding frame so that the cam will not
move the sliding frame except when the frictional wheel is in position. When the
sliding frame is not moved by the cam on the operating wheel the shaping tools
have no other than simply a vertical movement. Where only straight goods are
being formed a compound movement is not desired, and bence the sliding frame iş
not necessarily used, but it can be brought into play if so desired,

page_text: When the sliding frame is brought into use, just as the shaping tools have nearly
reached the length of their stroke towards the bottom of the implement being
formed, the cam upon the operating wheel begins to move the sliding frame, and
then the shaping tools begin to move laterally at the same time that they are
moved vertically. While thus moving both vertically and laterally the bottom of
the implement is being formed, and after having been formed the tools begin to rise
upward and backward at the same time, so as to prevent, the tools from tearing the
surface of the plastic material which is being worked. This compound movement
enables the curved surface of the implement to be formed at the same time. When
the shaping tools first descend upon the material which is being worked, it forces
the material back against the side of the mold at the bottom, and then the tools
begin to move laterally for the purpose of forming the curved surfaces, and then
after having formed this curved surface, the tool returns to its vertical position, so
that it can be drawn upward and out of the mouth. The pin or stud which passes
through the head of the rod I¹, being placed at any inclination, as above stated,
causes the shaping tools to first sink downward as the sliding frame is moved
laterally by the cam upon the operating wheel, and then as the sliding frame
returns to position, it forces the rod outward and upward at the same time. If the
shaping tool had simply a side-wise movement in connection with its vertical play,
it would tear the material in the bottom of the vessel which is being formed,
whereas by giving the tool a vertical. and a downwardly and upwardly lateral
movement the bottom is formed as smoothly and evenly as any other part.
The tool holder a, upon the bottom of the rod I', may consist simply of a flat
plate which is held in position by means of set screws, or any other similar devices,
and to which plate the forming or shaping tools are secured in any suitable
manner.
After the article has been formed by the machine, as above described, it is
removed, partially dried, and then brought back either to the same, or another
machine of the same construction to be finished. The article is placed upon the
revolving head or disk, which is generally used, in an inverted position, and then
the shaping tools are attached to the tool holder of such a shape that they will go
over the outer surface of the article and give it a suitable finish. Thus it will be
seen that the same machine is made to both form the article and then finish it
afterwards.
Having thus described my Invention, I claim
1. The combination of the frame, the driving shaft, provided with pulleys, the
operating wheel, provided with a stud or projection, a grooved slide, and the rod
carrying the shaping tools, substantially as shown.
2. The combination of the frame, the driving shaft, provided with suitable
pulleys, the operating wheel provided with a stud or projection for moving the
slide vertically, and a cam; with a sliding spring actuated frame, to which the
outer end of the rod I', carrying the shaping tools is secured, substantially as
described.
3. The combination of the driving shaft, provided with suitable pulleys, the
operating wheel, provided with a stud or projection for moving the slide, and
an inclined pin or projection which passes through the upper end of the rod I¹,
carrying the shaping tools, with a spring actuated frame, having a guide upon one
end, through which the rod I¹, passes, and provided with a stud or frictional wheel
against which the cam on the driving wheel bears for the purpose of moving the
frame, substantially as set forth.
4. In a machine for forming articles from plastic material, the combination of a
revolving operating wheel for giving the rod which carries the shaping tools
a vertical movement, with a side wise sliding frame which causes the rod 11, to
move laterally, at the same time that it is moving both upward and downward at
the lower end of its stroke, substantially as specified.
0

page_text: 5. In a machine for forming vessels from plastic material, .the combination of an
operating wheel for moving the rod which carries the shaping tools vertically, a
sliding end-wise moving frame for moving the rod laterally, and an inclined stud
or projection for moving the rod downwardly and upwardly at the same time that
it is moved laterally, substantially as described.