IMPROVED APPARATUS AND MACHINERY FOR MAKING
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Axton, of Shepherd's Bush, in the County of
Middlesex, and John Leach, of Hounslow, in the County of Middlesex,
for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS AND MACHINERY FOR MAKING
Sealed the 23rd May 1865, and dated the 29th November 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Axton and John
Leach at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 29th November 1864,
We, GEORGE AXTON, of Shepherd's Bush, in the County of Middlesex, and
JOHN LEACH, of Hounslow, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS AND MACHINERY FOR
MAKING BRICKS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in so adapting an ordinary pug mill that the clay
may be forced into moulds passing through or under the pug mill, the moulds
being propelled along two channels, one on each side of the centre of the mill
by endless chains or other suitable appliances, whereby the moulds are caused
to travel continuously to the end of the channel formed for them, where the
bricks are then shifted by hand or raised out of the moulds or pushed through
them by an apparatus worked by the foot, or by levers worked by hand; the
moulds are then sanded and returned in the opposite direction.
To accomplish this, we propose to form the lower end of the pug mill shaft
without a "step" or "toe," as is usually the case, but working in a bearing

page_text: in the main framing under the bottom of the pug mill, having a bevel wheel
keyed on its extremity, the said bevel wheel working into two other bevel wheels
or pinions secured to the extremities of two transverse spindles working in
bearings in the main framing for propelling the moulds in opposite directions,
the moulds themselves being placed upon endless chains or other suitable
apparatus, and secured in position by being slided into grooves or by studs, the
aforenamed endless chains being made to pass over chain wheels fixed on
spindles working in bearings in the main framing at such a distance from the
pug mill that the moulds will clear the outside of the pug mill in order that
the bricks may be removed. The pugging blades we attach by bolts or screws
to sockets, which we slide down the main shaft, and secure in their places by
keys, clamping bolts, or otherwise. The lower pugging blades we would
propose to arrange in the form of a cross, and at an angle so as the more
effectually to press the clay into the moulds. We also have a number of
scrapers; three or more, as may be found convenient for striking off the face of
the bricks as they travel along the above-named grooves or channels, the said
scrapers working by springs or weights to accommodate themselves to any
inequalities in the clay of the brick, or in case of meeting with a stone.
order to close the aperture in the bottom of the pug mill through which the
clay is forced into the moulds, we provide wrought-iron slides working smoothly
in grooves underneath the pug mill.
In
The moulds we form of cast or wrought iron, brass, wood, or other suitable
material. The bricks on arriving at the end of the main frame are removed
by hand, or pressed out of their moulds by levers or forcing blocks actuated
by a lifting apparatus working with a treddle or levers for forcing the bricks
up out of the moulds or pressing them through, in this case having shifting
stocks or pallet boards.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Axton and John Leach in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th May 1865.
'TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, GEORGE
AXTON, of Shepherd's Bush, in the County of Middlesex, and JOHN LEACH,
of Hounslow, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the. twenty-eighth

page_text: year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto us, the said George Axton and John Leach,. Her special. licence that
we, the said George Axton and John Leach, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others, as we, the said George Axton and John Leach,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and in 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 "IMPROVED APPARATUS AND
MACHINERY FOR MAKING BRICKS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we; the said George Axton and John Leach, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, 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 we, the said George Axton and John Leach; dó
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:-
Our Invention consists in so adapting an ordinary pug mill that the clay
may be forced into moulds passing through or under the pug mill, the moulds
being propelled along two channels, one on each side of the centre of the mill
by endless chains or other suitable appliances, whereby the moulds are caused
to travel continuously on loose slides with rises to form the hollow of the brick
to the end of the channel formed for them, where the bricks are then shifted
by hand or raised out of the moulds or pushed through them. by an apparatus
worked by the foot, or by levers worked by: hand; the moulds and loose slides
are then sanded and returned in the opposite direction..
To accomplish this, we propose to form the lower end of the pug mill shaft
without a "step" or "toe," as is usually the ease, but working in a bearing
in the main framing under the bottom of the pug mill, having a bevel wheel
keyed on its extremity, the said bevel wheel working into, two, other, bevel
wheels or pinions secured to the extremities of two transverse spindles working
in bearings in the main framing for propelling the moulds on slides in opposite
directions, the moulds themselves being placed upon the slides and endless
chains or other suitable apparatus, and secured in position by being slided, into
grooves or by studs; the aforenamed endless chains being made to pass, over
chain. wheels fixed on spindles working in bearings in the main, framing at

page_text: such a distance from the pug mill that the moulds will clear the outside of
the pug mill, in order that the brick's may be removed. The pugging blades
.we attach by bolts or screws to sockets with projections, which we slide
down the main shaft, and secure in their places by keys, clamping bolts, or
otherwise. The lower pugging blades we propose to arrange in the form of a
cross, and at an angle so as the more effectually to press the clay into the
moulds. We also have a number of scrapes, three or more, as may be found
convenient for striking off the face of the bricks as they travel along the above
named grooves or channels; the said scrapers working by springs or weights
to accomodate themselves to any inequalities in the clay of the brick or
in case of meeting with a stone. In order to close the aperture in the bottom
of the pug mill through which the clay is forced into the moulds, we provide
wrought-iron slides working smoothly in grooves underneath the mill.
pug
The moulds we form of cast or wrought iron, brass, wood, or other suitable
material. The bricks or arriving at the end of the main frame are shifted by
hand, or pressed out of the moulds by levers or forcing blocks actuated by a
lifting apparatus working with a treddle or levers for forcing the bricks up
out of the moulds or pressing them through; in this case having shifting
stocks or pallet boards.
As the chains will increase in length in the process of wearing, and so cause
the moulds to travel irregularly, we have an apparatus whereby we can draw
the end spindles upon which the chain wheels revolve further apart, and so
tighten the chains without the ordinary process of cutting out a link.
Having now fully described the nature and object of our said Invention, we
will proceed to describe the same more particularly, and in order thereto, we
shall refer to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and
figures of reference marked thereon respectively as follows, like letters and
figures denoting similar parts throughout all the Figures.
Fig. 1 represents a plan of our machine for making bricks; Fig. 2, a vertical
section of the same on the line x, y; and Fig. 3, a side elevation.
A, A, &c., represents the main frames, which may be made of wood or iron
or other suitable material, and are firmly secured together by the cross
beams B, B, &c, which form legs or supports, as shewn at L, L, &c. in
Figs. 2 and 3. The centre legs L, L, are prolonged upwards above the top
of the pug mill M, and are united by a cross beam P, which supports the
upper end of the pug mill shaft S in the plummer block R. H, H, H, H, in
Figs. 1 and 2, are the lower pugging blades, which are bolted in the form of a
cross, as shewn, to a socket G, which is made to slide down the pug mill shaft
S, and is keyed in position. The lower pugging blades H, H, H, H, are

page_text: bolted to the socket G angularly, as is shewn by the shading, in order the
more effectually to press the clay into the moulds N, N, Fig. 2, which travel
beneath the pug mill. C, C, are two cross beams, which support the plummer
blocks R'; R"; R, R, in which revolve the spindles D, D', which carry
the chain wheels F, F, the form of which is shewn in Fig. 3; W is a bevel
wheel keyed on the lower extremity of the pug niill shaft. Two similar bevel
wheels W, W, are keyed on the extremities of the spindles D, D', and all
three are made to work freely and gear into each other. The pug mill shaft S
is supported in a bearing T at its lower end by a collar, as shewn in Fig. 2.
E, E, are the chains which carry the moulds N, N; these chains are made of
links, so that they work in the teeth of the wheels F, F, and the similar
wheels F, F, at the extremities of the frames A, A, &c. These wheels being
supported on spindles O, O, as seen more clearly in Fig. 3.
Should the chains E, E, get slack through wear, and so prevent the moulds
from travelling correctly between the frames, we tighten them by the apparatus
a, a, shewn at the end of the frames in Fig. 3, in which O, O, represent the
spindles on which the chain wheels revolve, being fixed in sliding blocks b, b.
The sliding blocks can be drawn farther out, and so gather up the slack, or
if too tight brought nearer to each other by turning the nut d on the bolt c.
I, I, I, are scrapers of steel or iron, which are made so as to scrape the top of
the moulds as they pass under them, and so remove any superfluous clay, and
give the brick its proper shape. They are counterpoised by the weights K, K, &c.,
so that in the event of coming in contact with a stone, they are raised up and
pass over it.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-When the pug mill shaft S is
turned, which may be done by steam power, or otherwise, the bevel wheel W,
revolves, and so causes the two wheels W', W", to rotate in opposite directions
the teeth on the periphery of the chain wheels F, F, dragging the chains
round, and so causing the moulds which are placed in grooves, as shewn in
Fig 2, to travel with them. The bottom of the moulds are furnished with
rises or kicks to form the hollow of the bricks. As they pass under the bottom
of the pug mill the clay is forced into them through the bottom of the mill,
which is left open for that purpose by the action of the lower pugging
blades H, H, &c., and the top of the brick is struck off or scraped by the
scrapers I, I, &c. On arriving at the end of the grooves on the one side of
the machine, the bricks are removed by hand, the moulds are sanded and
placed in the grooves on the opposite side of the machine, and are in the same
manner caused to travel under the pug mill to the other end of the machine,
where the same process is repeated.

page_text: In the Drawings accompanying this Specification, it is to be understood that
the parts coloured blue represent iron, and the portions coloured yellow
represent 'wood.
Having now fully described and illustrated the nature and object of our
said Invention, together with the best means we are acquainted with for
carrying the same into practical effect, we wish it to be understood that we
do not confine ourselves to the precise forms, proportions, and details herein
before mentioned or referred to; but what we claim is, the general arrange-
ment and combination of mechanism herein-before described and illustrated,
for the purposes herein-before mentioned, or referred to.
In witness whereof, we, the said George Axton and John Leach, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Eighteenth day of May, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
CHARLES S. BAKER,
General Patent Comp, L.,
71, Fleet Street.
GEORGE AXTON.
JOHN LEACH.
(L.S.)
(L.S.)