AN. IMPROVED MACHINE FOR MOULDING AND COMPRESSING BRICKS, TILES, AND
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Laurent Lethuillier, of 67, Rue Marbeuf, Paris,
in the Empire of France, Engineer, for the Invention of "AN.
IMPROVED MACHINE FOR MOULDING AND COMPRESSING BRICKS, TILES, AND
Sealed the 29th September 1857, and dated the 20th May 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Laurent Lethuillier at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th May 1857.
I, LAURENT LETHUILLIER, of 87, Rue Marbeuf, Paris, in the Empire of
France, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR MOULDING AND COMPRESSING BRICKS, TILES, AND
OTHER ARTICLES MADE OF SOFT MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in moulding and compressing articles, such as
bricks, tiles, pipes made of plastic materials, as clay, peat, &c., by means of
the machine shown by the annexed Drawing, the principal feature of which
is the endless chain, the links of which form moulds.
A is a chamber containing the material to be moulded; B, B, framework ;
C, vertical driving shaft; D,d, bevelled wheel and pinion; E, bevelled wheels
driving the cam F, which causes a piston G to rise and fall, which compresses
the substance in 'the mould; H, H, endless chain, formed of suitable moulds.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Laurent Lethuillier in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
29th October 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LAURENT
LETHUILLIER, of 67, Rue Marbeuf, Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Laurent Lethuillier, Her special licence that I, the said Laurent
Lethuillier, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Laurent Lethuillier, my 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 "AN
IMPROVED MACHINE FOR MOULDING AND COMPRESSING BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER
ARTICLES MADE OF SOFT MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Laurent Lethuillier, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Laurent Lethuillier, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement-
The nature of my Invention will be most readily understood by referring to
the annexed Sheet of Drawings, on which the same letters are used for
denoting the like parts.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the moulding and compressing machine
complete; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the hexagon and apparatus for lifting
the brick or other moulded article out of the mould; Figs. 3 and 4, end and
side view of the lifting camf; Figs. 5 and 6, end view and plan of one of the
hexagonal plates g, g; Figs. 7 and 8, elevation and plan of one of the lifting
plates or pellets e, e; Figs. 9 and 10, side and end elevation of one of the
slotted end plates of the hexagon.

page_text: A, A, framing, which consists of two horizontal tables or platforms, con-
nected together by suitable standards or pillars; B is a large tub fixed on the
framing A. The Drawing only represents one machine, but there is another
exactly like, and placed along side it, in such position as to work in the
opposite direction; the two machines are worked simultaneously and are
driven by the same motion, and thus the produce of the machine is doubled
without materially increasing the motive power. The tub B being for feeding
both machines, its sheet-iron bottom has two longitudinal and parallel open-
ings, which correspond in width with that of the moulds passing under each
of said openings, but extend in length as far as the bottom goes. On the
under side of the bottom, along the edges of said openings, I fix ribs, both for
preventing the clay, &c. being spilt and for strengthening the bottom. The
clay or plastic matter being thrown into said tub B,is worked into the moulds
by means of a screw or helix, fixed near the bottom of the tub on an upright
shaft C, passing through the framework A, and turning in suitable bearings
provided at the top of the tub B and the bottom of the frame A.
1) is a
large bevel wheel, which is driven from any suitable countershafting and
gives motion to all the parts of the machine, gearing into the bevel wheel
E on the horizontal shaft F, which by means of the bevel wheel G drives the
bevel wheel H fixed on a transverse shaft, to the end of which is firmly
secured a crank J. This crank being set to turn, gives a rocking motion to
the lever L by means of the connecting rod K. Said lever I has attached to
it a rod or click M, acting on the ratchet wheel N', and turning it one tooth
at each revolution, and the ratchet wheel P is similarly acted upon by a
rod O, also attached to the lever L. The ratchet wheels N, P, are keyed on
the hexagon shafts, which are thus caused to turn as much as is required to
advance the endless chain by one length of mould at each revolution of the
crank J. There is an endless mould chain to each machine, each link or
mould c,c, having the length of a brick or other article to be moulded, and
being made the width of a mould for two bricks. Each link being hinged to
the next, the hinge pins are made to project on both sides, so as to lay
into the notches of the hexagons, as seen at Figs. 1 & 10. The endless
chains c, c,
slide on a railway above and on supports Q below.
R is a lifting
cam on the crank shaft J, acting on the ram S, Fig. 1, by which the bricks
are successively compressed in their moulds as the chain passes; U is a sheet-
iron box, containing a horizontal knife, which cuts off the clay, &c. level with
the surface of the mould, the excess of clay, &c. being received in the box U;
V is a framing, secured to the tub B, and carries a hopper Z containing dry
sand, which it lets fall on the sieve X for being distributed over the empty

page_text: This sieve is placed
moulds previous to their passing under the tub B.
underneath the hopper Z; it slides on the fixed bars or rails V, which are
inclined towards the back, and on each side has a projection or lug, which are
taken hold of by the hinge pins of the mould chain. The sieve is thus carried
forward by the motion of the endless chain, until rising on the inclined rails V
the lugs are relieved from the hold of the projecting hinge pins, when by the
action of a coiled spring fixed on the framing the sieve is suddenly made to
recoil and descend, so as to be taken hold of and carried forward again by
the hinge pins of the next pair of moulds, and by the succession of jerks thus
produced the sand is most equably and effectually shaken overall the moulds
to prevent adherence.
canvass.
a, a, are two endless belts or straps of woollen plush, velveteen or any
other suitable fabric used for like purposes, and are lined inside with strong
These. straps follow the motion of the mould chain and form a
moveable bottom for the moulds to receive the sand. The endless straps are
guided and-supported above by a bed or plates that have rails or ledges on
which the mould chains slide, there being a ledge or rail at each edge of the
bed, and one in the middle, so as to divide or separate the two straps a, a.
The under side of the rain should also be similarly clothed, so as to prevent
the clay sticking to it. Motion is imparted to the straps a, a, by the hexagon
P, over which they are stretched, and in order not to interfere with the
delivering notion, herein-after described, they do not pass on the delivering
hexagon N, but wrap over a roller turning at the back of the same, as may
be gathered from Fig. 1.
The operation of lifting the bricks, &c. out of the mould is effected in the
following manner, and shewn at Figs. 2 to 10, which are details of the
delivering hexagon :-The slotted end plates N of the hexagon are firmly:
secured on the ratchet wheel shaft, but said shaft turns loose in the bosses of
the two lifting cams f, which are fixed stationary by brackets to the frame A
in the proper angular position, so as to drive out the moulded article at the
time required. The grooved cams f being stationary whilst the other parts
are turning, it will thus be seen that by the action of the grooves a radial
motion is imparted to six rods d, d, which work through radial slots in the
end plate N, and have bowls at their ends, and each of these rods carrying a
couple of pallets e, e, with their stems passing through the plates g, g, which
form the sides of the hexagonal drum, it will readily be seen that the pallets
e,e,drive out the contents of the moulds when they arrive at the proper point
of the circumference. The moulded and compressed articles so delivered by
the drum are deposited on the endless cloth 6 to be conveyed to the kiln, &c.

page_text: The upright shaft C being common to both machines, and placed in the
middle between them, motion is given in exactly the same manner to the
parts of the second machine, which is placed in a reverse position, and in such
manner as to be driven by a bevel wheel gearing into D opposite the wheel E.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be carried into effect, I wish it to be distinctly
understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details of machinery
herein-before described, which may be varied without departing from the
principles thereof; but what I claim as novel, and therefore secured to me
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the application and
combination of the different component parts of the machine above described,
viz:-
First, the hopper Z and recoiling sieve X for sanding the moulds previously
to their passing under the tub B.
Second, the endless cloth a made of velveteen, &c. lined with canvass, and
being guided as above described, so as to act as a bottom to the moulds.
Third, the cam R actuating the ram S by means of a roller, &c.
Fourth, the bars d, d, with bowls working in cams, the pallets e, e, fixed on
said bars, and generally all the parts of the delivering hexagon for forcing the
bricks or other moulded articles out of the moulds.
Fifth, the crank J, connecting rod D), lever L, click rods M and O, and
ratchet wheels N, P, acting in such manner as to give an intermittent motion
to the mould chain and allow the ram S to act without interrupting the action
of the whole machine.
Sixth, the knife in the box U for paring off the surplus matter from the
surface of the moulds.
Seventh, the method of placing and working a second and like inachine
along the first working in the opposite direction, the parts common to both
machines being the tub B with its shaft C and the helix contained in it.
In witness whereot, I, the said Laurent Lethuillier, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this
day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
LAURENT LETHUILLIER (L.S.)