IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MOULDING BRICKS, TILES, 1770 ARTR A DRYGY
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Craven and Benjamin Craven, both of
Wakefield, in the County of York, Engineers, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MOULDING BRICKS, TILES,
1770 ARTR
A DRYGY"
Sealed the 28th January 1876, and dated the 3rd December 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Craven and
Benjamin Craven at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 3rd December 1875.
We, JOHN CRAVEN and BENJAMIN CRAVEN, both of Wakefield, in
the County of York, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of our
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
MOULDING BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
:-
Our Invention relates to machinery or apparatus to be employed for
moulding bricks, tiles, and other similar articles from semi-dry clay or
other suitable material, and consists of a peculiar construction and
arrangement of parts, whereby the clay or other material is automatically
fed into the mould and compressed therein between an upper and a

page_text: lower piston in such a manner as to expel the confined air from the
clay and release the latter from adhesion to the upper piston; the bricks
or other articles so formed being finally delivered from the mould in a
finished state ready to be dried or baked.
In carrying out our Invention the clay or other material from which
bricks (for example) are to be made is fed into a hopper, whence it is
conducted into a suitable tube or spout into a box or chamber, by which
it is conveyed into the mould. This box or chamber is caused to
reciprocate upon the moulding table beneath the spout of the hopper,
and is provided with an opening on its upper side for the reception of
the clay, its under side being also open to admit of the clay passing
therefrom into the mould.
The reciprocating motion of the box is obtained by means of a
rotating tappet arm keyed on the main driving shaft, which arm as it
rotates actuates a two armed lever keyed on a rocking shaft, which
works in suitable bearings in the framing of the machine. This shaft
carries a lever, to the upper end of which the box or chamber is
attached by a connecting rod, and thereby receives a to-and-fro motion
in such a manner as to convey the clay to the mould and return again
to receive a fresh supply for the next brick. The clay having been
deposited in the mould is compressed therein between a lower piston
which forms the bottom of the mould and an upper piston, which is
caused to rise and fall by the means next herein-after described :—
The upper piston is carried on the lower end of a vertical rod, which
is free to slide in a cross head fitted to rise and fall in suitable guides
formed in or on the end standards of the machine.
The rising and lowering of the cross head is effected by means of
cranks keyed on the main shaft, to which cranks the cross head is attached
by connecting rods. To the cross head there are hinged two levers,
which as the former rises carry with them the upper piston by engaging
at their lower ends with projections formed on the piston rod; the upper
ends of these levers pass through openings in the frame of the machine
and are provided with inclines, which when the cross head has been
raised to a certain extent come in contact with the edge of the openings
through which they pass, thereby causing their upper ends to be forced
inwards and releasing their lower end from the projections on the piston
rod; the upper piston is thus allowed to fall by its own gravity (assisted

page_text: if required by a weight, or steam, or hydraulic pressure) on to the clay
contained in the mould, and thereby compress the clay between it, and
the lower piston thus forcing most of the air from the clay. The lower
piston which has its bearing upon a snail cam keyed on the main shaft
is by the rotation of the said cam now caused to rise within the mould,
carrying with it the upper piston and the compressed clay, which
meeting the descending cross head the clay is again most powerfully
compressed between the two pistons; and such pressure is continued by
means of the snail cam during the time the brick is moving up the
mould, and until it is ready to escape from the mould. By the time
that the clay is raised out of the mould the upper piston will be caused
to rise from it by the means above described, leaving the compressed
brick on the surface of the lower piston. The reciprocating box now
advances with a fresh supply of clay, and in its forward motion forces
the moulded brick from off the piston on to the delivery table, and at the
same time deposits the clay contained therein within the mould, the
lower piston having descended in the meantime, and then returns again
for a fresh supply of clay for the next brick. The finished bricks are
removed from the delivery table by an attendant in a finished state ready
to be dried or baked.
In order to release the brick from adhesion to the upper piston I
construct such piston with a yielding panel or piston covered with
moleskin or porous fabric, which being compressed inwards when under
pressure on the clay in the mould on its release from pressure forces the
brick off the upper piston and leaving it on the lower piston.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Craven and Benjamin Craven in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 31st May 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
CRAVEN and BENJAMIN CRAVEN, both of Wakefield, in the County of
York, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-

page_text: ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said John Craven and Benjamin Craven, Her
special license that we, the said John Craven and Benjamin Craven,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the
said John Craven and Benjamin Craven, our executors, administrators,
or 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 OR
APPARATUS FOR MOULDING BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Craven and
Benjamin Craven, our executors or administrators, 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 Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John Craven and Benjamin
Craven, 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, reference being had
to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
-
Our said Invention relates to improvements upon that description of
machinery or apparatus for moulding bricks, tiles, and other similar
articles, in which the semi-dry clay or other material out of which the
'articles are to be made is fed into a mould or moulds, and then
subjected to compression between an upper piston and a lower piston,
and the moulded article thus produced is subsequently delivered from
its mould in a condensed or consolidated condition. These improvements
consist more particularly of means of obtaining a compressing action of
a maximum duration for every revolution of the driving shaft of a
peculiar arrangement of devices for controlling and regulating the
ascent and descent of the upper piston, and effecting the final com-
pression of the moulded article; and of a mode or method of releasing
"the moulded article from adhesion to the upper piston, when the

page_text: latter is elevated after the operation of compressing such artiole is
completed.
And in order that our said Invention may be fully understood, we
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings. The same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts
in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of our Drawings represents a side elevation of a machine,
having the improvements which form the subject of our Invention
applied thereto; Figure 2 is an end view; and Figure 3 is a vertical
section of the same; and Figure 4 is a sectional detail shewing the
construction of the lower portion of the upper piston.
In carrying out our Invention the clay or other material from which
bricks (for example) are to be made is fed into a hopper, whence it is
conducted by a suitable tube or spout A into a box or chamber B, by
which it is conveyed into the mould C; this box or chamber is caused
to reciprocate upon the moulding table D beneath the spout A of the
hopper, and is provided with an opening on its upper side for the
reception of the clay, its under side being also open to admit of the clay
passing into the mould.
The reciprocating motion of the box is obtained by means of a
rotating tappet arm E keyed on the main shaft F, which shaft is
driven through the intervention of the intermediate shaft G, and the
spur gearing H, H³, from the first motion shaft I of the machine.
The tappet arm E as it rotates actuates a two armed lever K, K,
keyed on a rocking shaft L; the motion of which is transmitted by
means of a lever M and a connecting rod N to the box or chamber B,
whereby the latter is caused to move to and fro in such a manner as
to convey the clay to the mould C, and return again to receive a fresh
supply for the next brick. The clay thus deposited in the mould C,
is compressed therein between a lower piston O which forms the
bottom of the mould and an upper piston P, both of which are arranged
and combined together, so as to obtain a maximum duration of the
compressing action for every revolution of the shaft F in the manner
next herein-after described :-
The upper piston P is carried on the lower end of a vertical rod Q.

page_text: which is free to slide in a cross head R fitted to rise and fall in suitable
guides a, formed in or on the end standards S, S, of the machine.
The raising and lowering of the cross head is effected by means of
cranks T keyed on the main shaft F, to which cranks the cross head R
is attached by connecting rods U. To the cross head there are hinged
two levers V, V, which as the former rises carry with them the upper
piston P by engaging at their lower ends with projections b, b, formed
on the piston rod. The upper ends of these levers pass through
openings c in the frame of the machine and are provided with inclines d,
which when the cross head has been raised to a certain extent come in
contact with the edge c¹ of the openings through which they pass,
thereby causing their upper ends to be forced inwards, and releasing
their lower ends from the projections 6 on the piston rod. The upper
piston is thus allowed to fall by its own gravity (assisted if required by
a weight or by steam or hydraulic pressure) on to the clay contained in
the mould, and thereby compress the clay between it and the lower
piston, thus forcing most of the air from the clay. The lower piston
which has its bearing upon a snail cam W keyed on the main shaft F, is
by the rotation of the said cam now caused to rise within the mould,
carrying with it the upper piston and the compressed clay, and the
cross head being simultaneously caused to descend comes into contact
with the piston block P, whereby the clay is again most powerfully
compressed between the two pistons, which pressure is continued by
means of the snail cam during the time the brick is moving up the
mould, and until it has escaped from the mould. When the brick is
delivered out of the mould the upper piston P is raised from it under
the action of the levers V, V, which are then caused to engage with the
projections 6; these levers are provided with inclines similar to
those d herein-before described; and which as the cross head descends
are brought into contact with the edge c³, whereby the levers are moved
into such a position as to admit of their engaging with projections b
when the incline d³ is brought opposite the edge c*; springs 6¹ are also
provided as a precaution against any contingency; it is then requisite
that the compressed brick should be left on the surface of the lower
piston; for the purpose therefore of releasing the brick from adhesion to
the upper piston we construct the latter with a yielding panel or
piston X (as shewn in the detail, Figure 4) which lies nearly flush with
the lower part e of the body of the piston during the operation of

page_text: compressing, but as the piston is raised is caused to protrude under the
action of springs f, f, and thereby force the brick out of contact with
the part e leaving it upon the top of the lower piston; the brick
having been left upon the lower piston O, the reciprocating box B then
advances with a fresh supply of clay, and in its forward motion forces
the moulded brick from off the piston on to the delivery table D¹, and
the piston then falling the box at the same time deposits the clay
contained therein within the mould, and immediately returns for a fresh
supply of clay for the next brick, when the series of operations herein-
before described are repeated, and so on in succession. The bricks are
removed from the delivery table by an attendant in a finished state ready
to be dried or baked.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, we would observe in conclusion that what we
consider to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. Effecting the moulding of bricks, tiles, and other like articles,
by subjecting the clay or other material to continuous compression in
such a manner that it is first submitted to the percussive action of an
upper piston, and then continuously further compressed by the positive
pressure of a lower piston against the pressure of gravitation of the
upper piston, and that the compression is completed by the continued
positive pressure of the lower piston in conjunction with a positive
pressure of the upper piston; the article under operation being in
motion during the whole series of compressive actions, substantially as
herein-before described.
Secondly. The application and use of a moveable cross head or carrier,
arranged in combination with the upper piston in such a manner that
the upper piston shall be elevated by the ascent of the cross head or
carrier, and then automatically released and allowed to descend in-
dependently of such cross head or carrier; the latter subsequently
descending for the purpose of imparting a positive pressure to the upper
piston, and then re-elevating the same substantially as herein-before
described.
Thirdly. The mode or method of releasing the moulded article from

page_text: which is caused to protrude from the body of the upper piston as the
latter is elevated, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Craven and Benjamin
Craven, have to this our Specification set our hands and seals,
the Eighteenth day of February, One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-six.