IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRE- PARATION OF CLAY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER ARTICLES WHICH MAY BE MADE OF SUCH MATERIAL
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Platt, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster,
Mechanical Engineer, and William Richardson, of the same Place,
Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRE-
PARATION OF CLAY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER
ARTICLES WHICH MAY BE MADE OF SUCH MATERIAL."
Sealed the 27th February 1863, and dated the 4th September 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Platt and William
Richardson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 4th September 1862.
We, JOHN PLATT, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical
Engineer, and WILLIAM RICHARDSON, of the same Place, Mechanical Engi-
neer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE PREPARATION OF CLAY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER
ARTICLES WHICH MAY BE MADE OF SUCH MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to processes whereby crude or untempered clay is
brought into a state of division and into a condition suitable for being
compressed in moulds of any desired form.
The first operation consists in partially drying the clay and reducing it into
comparatively small particles, whereby also stones are separated therefrom.
For this purpose we cause the material to pass through a current of heated
air, and we effect this operation by feeding it into a revolving tube, whereby it
is carried forward. This tube we also furnish with vanes projecting inward,
by which the clay is carried upward and then allowed to full, so as to become
broken up, and at the end of the tube or tubes the stones are separated there-
from. The clay thus broken up may be conveyed to a sifter of ordinary

page_text: construction, and we then pass it by an elevator or otherwise to an operation
constituting another portion of our Invention. This consists in causing the
material to fall in a stream from one point to another, during which falling a
current of air is caused to pass through it, the effect of which is that particles
of different weight are driven through different distances and fall into separato!
channels, whereby the material becomes divided into as many classes as may
be desired.
For the purpose of causing the material to fall in a stream as above men-
tioned, we employ a cylinder, into which it is fed and which is furnished with
projecting blades that constantly elevate it and allow it to fall. The material
tbus divided into different sized pieces may be treated in any ordinary manner;
but if, according to an arrangement we adopt, a portion thereof is submitted
to crushing rollers, we employ a novel apparatus for breaking up the flake
form which these rollers impart. This consists in a revolving disc furnished
with projecting bars, against which the material is thrown by centrifugal 1
force. This disc has a cover which we also cause to revolve, whereby the
material is prevented from adhering thereto, or we use a revolving scraper.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by tho said John Platt and William Richardson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd March 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
PLATT, of Oldham, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanical Engineer, and
WILLIAM RICHARDSON, of the same Place, Mechanical Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
John Platt and William Richardson, Her special license that we, the said
John Platt and William Richardson, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said John Platt and William Richardson,
our 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 THE PRE-

page_text: PARATION OF CLAY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER ARTICLES
WHICH MAY BE MADE OF SUCH MATERIALS," upon the condition, amongst others,
that we, the said John Platt and William Richardson, by an instrument in
writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us,
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 Offico within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Platt, do hereby declare the
nature of our 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:―
Our Invention relates to processes whereby crude or untempered clay is
brought into a state of division and into a condition suitable for being com-
pressed in moulds of any desired form.
The first operation consists in partially drying the clay and reducing it into
comparatively small particles, whereby also stones are separated therefrom.
The apparatus we employ for carrying out this part of our Invention is
shewn at Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is
a longitudinal section with one end broken off; Fig. 2, a cross section in line
A, B; and Fig. 3, a similar section in line C, D. At 1 is a hopper supported
by framing 2, beneath which hopper are two screws 3, 4, the axes 5, 6, of
which are geared together by pinions of unequal numbers of teeth. Upon the
axis 6 is a toothed wheel 9, taking into gear with a wheel 10, mounted upon
a shaft 11. This shaft 11 is provided also with a worm wheel 12, driven by
a worm 18, to which the motive power is applied, and thus the two screws 3, 4,
are caused to revolve at a slow speed and in opposite directions. Between
these two screws is a block or partition 14, which follows the lower portions of
their peripheries and extends upwards at 15, so as to constitute a fin or ridge
between them. Adjoining the hopper is a chamber 16, constituting a flue, for
the purpose hereafter to be mentioned, which chamber is continued by a tube
17, shewn in the Drawing as broken off, it being of considerable longth. This
tube is provided with annular projections, one of which is shewn at 18, resting
upon a roller 19, mounted upon the shaft 11; when, therefore, the said shaft
is by the before-mentioned means caused to revolve, rotatory motion will be
communicated to the tube 17 by the friction surfaces 18, 19, and at 20 aro
rollers which serve to support the tube in a leteral direction at any convenient
position in the length of the tube. The friction surfaces 18, 19, are made with
flaugos, so as to prevent the tube from slipping forward.

page_text: At 21, Fig. 1, are vanes, projecting inward from the circumference of the
tube 17 and extending throughout the length thereof. The clay to be pre-
pared is fed into the hopper 1, and it falls therefore upon the upper portions of
and between the screws 3, 4, resting upon the fin or ridge 15. Upon motive
power being applied to the shaft of the worm 13, a slow rotatory motion will
as before described be communicated to the two screws 3, 4, and in the direc-
tion of the arrows, to be seen in Fig. 2; the effect of this will be a tendency
to press the clay downward upon the ridge or fin 15, while it will at the same
time be severed or broken up by the blades constituting the screws, and caused
to travel forward towards the tube 17; but in addition to this, the masses of
material operated upon are further broken up and reduced into small particles
by the relative action of the screws, the revolution of one screw being at a
greater speed than that of the other. Owing to this arrangement the one will
act as a comparative retarding surface, so as to cause the material to bo acted
upon in two directions while being carried forward by the joint action of the
two screws. The material therefore is continually and gradually delivered to
tho tube 17, which being placed at an anglo as shewn, causes it by its revolu-
tion to pass onward and to be discharged at the end thereof, during which
transference from one end to the other it is continually raised and allowed to
fall by the projecting vanes 21. During this operation we cause a current of
heated air to be blown by a fan or other apparatus into the tube 17, from
whence it passes by the flue 16, so that the material during its passage and
while it is being constantly agitated and separated is partially dried and ren-
dered more capable of being broken up by falling from the vanes 21. The
degree to which the clay is to be dried will be easily regulated by any person
familiar with the process of manufacture. We prefer that the clay as it issues
from the end of the tubo should be to such an extent disintegrated and
deprived of so much of its moisture that the material is in such a condition that
it will easily pass through the meshes or bars of an ordinary sifter or other
apparatus of a similar character. We find it advantageous that the drying
process should be so regulated that the material in this stage will be found,
whon squeezed in the hand, to cohero and form a lump. The apparatus for
sifting which we prefer to employ consists of a screen, in which we place the
material in the first instance; by means of this screen the larger stones aro
separated from the plastic material, We then pass the sifted material between
rollers, which pulverize the stones which are too small to be screened. Theso
rollers then leave the clay in such a state that some of the particles cohere in
a leafy condition. The material is then passed on to the apparatus, constituting
the next part of our Invention, and shewn in two views at Figs. 4 and 5, the

page_text: former being a vertical section thereof, and the latter a plan view in section,
the driving wheels being shewn by the pitch lines in red color.
At a is the casing of the operating parts, supported by a suitable number of
rollers 6; within the casing is a plate c, carried by a shaft d, which turns in
bearings e, f; projecting upward from the plate c are rods g, which are bound
together at their upper ends by a second plate h, which plate and the casing a
also are provided with central apertures i,k. The clay after having been
operated upon by the machine described in reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and
having been sifted or otherwise treated so as to have been brought into a suit-
able condition, is fed gradually through the apertures i, k, so as to fall upon
the plate c.
This plate is caused to revolve rapidly, and the material is tho-
roughly agitated, and at the same time is thrown outward by centrifugal forco
against the first series of projecting rods g, by which means it is in a certain
degree broken up; as the material continues in its outward course it is pro-
jected successively against and passes between each series of rods g, which, as
they rotate in the same direction, strike it successively and break it up until
it escapes into the case a and falls out through the open bottom thereof. The
material is then prepared by being reduced to the required disintegrated state
suitable for being pressed in moulds into the desired forms, such as bricks or
other moulded articles, by any of the well-known machines which are suitable
for moulding crude or untempered clay. During the above-described operation
the case a is caused to revolve slowly, so as to cause its interior surface to rub
against a fixed scraper 1 in such a manner that all the clay as it sticks to the
case and accumulates thereon is removed, and thus an accumulation of
adhering clay is prevented. It will be observed that the rods 9 are closer
together as they extend outward, and this variation and also the number of
rings of rods 9 may be more or less, according to the degree of disintegration
required.
The parts above described may be caused to revolve by any suitable arrange-
ment of gearing, but we will point out a method which may be employed :—
Upon the shaft d is a pulley m, around which a band passes twice, and from
thence over pulleys n, one of which is connected with the motive power; on
the shaft d is also another pulley o, from whence a band passes to a pulley p,
fixed upon a shaft q. This shaft carries a toothed pinion r, taking into a
wheels, carried by a shaft t, which shaft at its lower end has a pinion u in
gear with a wheel v formed upon the casing a, which is thus caused to revolve
slowly upon the supporting rollers b.
We have above alluded to a scraper which cleans the material from the
casing by the revolution thereof; but, if desired, the said scraper may be

page_text: caused to revolve and the casing to remain stationary, or both may be arranged
to revolve.
We make no claim to the apparatus referred to in our Provisional Specifi-
cation and intended to be used in connection with the processes above described
for the purpose of separating the clay into pieces of different sizes by submit-
ting it to a current of air, as we have found that the same is not of sufficient
practicable utility to enable it to be used with advantage.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention, and
the manner of carrying the same into effect, we desire it to be understood that
we do not limit ourselves to the precise arrangements and constructions shewn
and described; but we claim as our Invention,―
Firstly, the apparatus described by reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, whereby
the clay is passed through a tube or cylinder which conveys it forward, at the
same time raising it and allowing it to fall; also the use of a current of
heated air passing over the clay as it is conveyed forward by the tube or
cylinder.
Also, we claim the combination of parts forming the apparatus described in
reference to the said Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and its application in the manner and
for the purposes described.
Also, the combination of parts forming the apparatus described in reference
to Figures 4 and 5, and the application thereof, in the manner and for the
purposes described.
Also, the use of a revolving casing in connection with a stationary or moving
cleansing instrument or scraper, or a revolving scraper acting upon a stationary
casing.
Also, the application and use of the different sets of apparatus used in com-
bination, in the manner and for the purposes as described and shewn in the
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Platt, have hereunto set our hand
and seal, this Second day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.