IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MAKING PIPES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF EARTHENWARE, AND IN THE FORM OF PIPES FOR GAS, SEWAGE, AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1861

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to Thomas Spencer, of Prescot, in the County of Lan-
caster, Earthenware Manufacturer, and Thomas Robinson, of St. Helen's,
in the said County, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MAKING PIPES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF
EARTHENWARE, AND IN THE FORM OF PIPES FOR GAS, SEWAGE, AND OTHER
PURPOSES." Partly a communication from abroad by Alfred Delafol, of
Paris, in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 29th April 1862, and dated the 2nd November 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Spencer and
Thomas Robinson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 2nd November 1861.
We, THOMAS SPENCER, of Prescot, in the County of Lancaster, Earthenware
Manufacturer, and THOMAS ROBINSON, of St. Helen's, in the said County,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MAKING PIPES, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF
EARTHENWARE, AND IN THE FORM OF PIPES POR GAS, SEWAGE, AND OTHER PURPOSES,"
to be as follows:-
Our Invention refers, firstly, to those machines in which the direct action of
steam or other fluid is employed for forcing the plastic material through or
into dies, and consists in the employment of an additional power, whereby we
are enabled to maintain the pressure after the moulding has been effected and
to work with a less pressure of the fluid. To this end we weight the ram
or piston direct or through the agency of racks or pinions, or equivalent
apparatus, and we effect this weighting by using a cistern, which may be

page_text: charged with water or other heavy matter, so that a portion may be drawn
off or otherwise removed as required.
Another part of our Invention relates to making articles of earthenware by
a plunger, which is forced into a mould, and consists, firstly, in covering the
said plunger or mould with cloth, leather, or other such material, which may
be peeled off; and, secondly, in giving the said plunger or mould a roughened
surface.
Another part of our Invention relates to making pipes or other articles
with a socket or other design at each end, and consists in forcing the plastic
material into a mould for forming one end, which mould is then removed,
so as to allow the pressure to force forward the material for the barrel
or analogous part, the second socket or end being formed in an upper
mould.
.
Another part of our Invention relates to a particular form of pipe for. gas,
sewage, and other purposes, and consists in forming the said pipe at one end
with an enlarged part, within which there is a recess, and at the other end
with a part capable of fitting into a similar recess upon another pipe, and we
prefer so forming the said ends that the interior diameter shall not be
interrupted by projections.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Spencer and Thomas Robinson in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 2nd May 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
SPENCER, of Prescot, in the County of Lancaster, Earthenware Manufacturer,
and THOMAS ROBINSON, of St. Helen's, in the said County, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Thomas Spencer and Thomas Robinson, Her special license that we,
the said Thomas Spencer and Thomas Robinson, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Spencer and Thomas
Robinson, 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

page_text: 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 MAKING PIPES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF EARTHENWARE, AND IN THE
FORM OF PIPES FOR GAS, SEWAGE, AND OTHER PURPOSES," partly a communication
from abroad by Alfred Delafol, of Paris, in the Empire of France, upon the
condition, amongst others, that we, the said Thomas Spencer and Thomas
Robinson, 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 per-
formed, 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 Thomas Spencer and Thomas Robinson,
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 refers, firstly, to those machines in which the direct action of
steam or other fluid is employed for forcing the plastic material through or
into dies, and consists of the employment of an additional power, whereby we
are enabled to maintain the pressure after the moulding has been effected, and
to work with a less pressure of the fluid. To this end we weight the ram or
piston direct or through the agency of racks or pinions, or equivalent appa-
ratus, and we effect this weighting by using a cistern, which may be charged
with water or other heavy matter, so that a portion may be drawn off or
otherwise removed, as required.
Another part of our Invention relates to making articles of earthenware bý
a plunger, which is forced into a mould, and consists, firstly, in covering the
said plunger or mould with cloth, leather, or other such material, which may
be peeled off; and, secondly, in giving the said plunger or mould a roughened
surface.
Another part of our Invention relates to making pipes or other articles
with a socket or other design at each end, and consists in forcing the plastic
material into a mould for forming one end, which mould is then removed,
so as to allow the pressure to force forward the material for the barrel or
analogous part, the second socket or end being formed in an upper mould.
Another part of our Invention relates to a particular form of pipe for gas,
sewage, and other purposes, and consists in forming the said pipe at one end
with an enlarged part, within which there is a recess, and at the other end
with a part capable of fitting into a similar recess upon another pipe, and

page_text: I prefer so forming the said ends that the interior diameter shall not be
interrupted with projections.
The first part of our Invention is shewn at Figs. 1 and 2 of the accom-
panying Drawing. The parts of the machine which effect the pressure by the
steam or other such power constitute no part of our present Invention, they
being already in use, but we will briefly point them out for the purpose of
explaining the application of our improvement.
At a is a steam cylinder, provided with a piston 6 and: ordinary slide
valve 6*, capable of being moved by band gear c, so as to admit steam on
either side of the piston. The piston 6 has two rods d, moving in stuffing
boxes e, beneath which they carry a piston f; which descends into a cylinder g,
filled with the clay or other plastic material, which operation forces it into or
through dies or moulds so as to produce moulded articles. The die or mould
shewn in the Drawing is made in two parts h, mounted in parrallel guides 'i,
and which can be separated for the removal of the moulded article, or instead
of moulds simple dies may be adapted, through which the plastic material may
be forced, whatever they may be, the. piston descending by steam pressure
carries downward the piston f into the cylinder 9, to effect the required
operation, and the steam being then reversed the two pistons are raised into
the position shewn in the Drawing. So far, the apparatus is already in use,
but according to our Invention we furnish the piston 6 with a rod k passing
through the cylinder, and carrying at its upper end a box l, which-is furnished
with parallel guides by means of rods m; this box is loaded with weight either
solid or fluid, so that when the piston f has moulded the article the said weight
maintains the pressure without the assistance of steam, whereby the moulding
of some articles is improved, and as the weight acts in conjuction with the
ordinary power, steam of less pressure may be employed. Instead of employing
the weight direct as above described, it may be applied through the medium of
racks, pulleys, or other similar mechanical arrangements, and the amount of
pressure may be modified by removing a portion of the weight in the
box l.
The next part of our Invention is illustrated at Fig. 3, in which, a is a mould
for a crucible, or other such article, and b. a plunger forced into the plastic
material which has been placed in the mould. The plunger or the mould or
both of them we cover with cloth, leather, or other such material, as shewn by
the red lines, and when the moulding has been effected and the plunger with-
drawn, the said cloth, leather, or other such substance remains behind, and
may then be peeled off the plastic material. In like manner when the moulded
article is removed from the mould the cloth will go with it, and may then be

page_text: stripped off. The moulds above alluded to may be made so as to part if
desired, or provided with an aperture at bottom for thrusting out the article,
or constructed in any other ordinary manner, and the plunger may be forced
therein by hand or by any usual arrangement of pressing machinery. Also
under this part of our Invention we construct the mould or plunger, or both,
with a roughened surface. This may be effected by forming them of castings,
and using them rough from the sand or by working up their surfaces after the
manner of a file or rasp.
The next part of our Invention is shewn at Figs. 4, 5, and 6. The first
of these represents the description of article to which our Invention refers, it
being provided with a design at either end, in this case sockets, such particular
form of pipe constituting another part of our Invention to be referred to
hereafter. Fig. 5 is a cross section of the apparatus we employ in making
Fig. 4, and other articles of a similar character, and Fig. 6 is a horizontal
view looking underneath Fig. 4. At a is a plate which is to be attached to
any receptacle from which the plastic material is forced, such as that, for
instance, described in reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the object being to force the
material through the orifice.b. Beneath the plate a are mounted two jaws
turning upon a hinge joint at d, and constituting outside moulds for forming
the exterior part e of Fig. 4. The jaws, are provided with handles f, and are
capable of being retained together by a pin 9 placed in a guide h, through
which the said jaws pass. Beneath the mould e, formed as above described; is
another mould formed in two parts i, *, each of which moves in parallel
guides j. The part of this mould is provided with a lever k, turning upon a
centre at 1, and connected by an arm m to another lever n, turning upon a
centre at o, and connected by a pin and slot p to the part of the mould.
At q is a core for the internal socket of the pipe, and at r a core for the
internal socket, the latter being carried by a flange formed upon the mould i, i*:
The core 9 is supported by the vessel. from which the material is forced.
The method of making the pipe by. this apparatus is as follows:-At starting
the parts are in the position shewn at Fig. 5, and the plastic material is then
forced through the aperture 6 so as to fill the two moulds. When this has
been done the lever n is turned upon its centre so as to open the moulds i, i*,
and the pressure being then continued the material is forced through the
orifice b, pushing downward the bottom socket which is no longer supported by
the moulds i, ; previously to this, however, the core r may be drawn off, or
it may, if desired, remain upon the article until it is finished. By this forcing
of the socket downward the barrel of the pipe of any desired length is produced,
after which the pin ġ is removed, and the jaws c, constituting the mould i, i*,
g
b

page_text: opened, when the pressure may be continued to make the top socket of any
desired length, and the pipe with the two sockets may be cut off in the usual
manner. Previously to continuing the pressure for the socket, holes are
pierced through the material, as at 's. This part of our Invention consisting
of the compound dies may be used for forming a variety of other articles,
which, like that shewn at Fig. 4, are provided with sockets or other projecting
parts at each end, such as chimney pots.
The next part of our Invention consists of forming pipes for gas, sewage,
and other purposes, as represented at Fig. 4, namely, with an enlarged part at
one end, within which there is a recess t, and with a part e at the other end,
capable of fitting into a recess similar to t upon another pipe.
We have above described one method by which these pipes may be formed
in plastic material, but we do not confine ourselves thereto, as other arrange-
ments may be employed, nor do we under this part of our Invention, which
relates to a form of pipe, limit ourselves to plastic materials, but we include
metal and other materials of which pipes may be made.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention,
and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I desire it to be under-
stood that we claim as secured to us under the above in part recited Letters
Patent,―
Firstly, and in reference to the description of pressing machinery above set
forth, weighting the piston, as illustrated at Figs. 1 and 2.
Secondly, as regards making articles of plastic materials by forcing a
plunger into a mould, we claim covering the mould and plunger or one of
them with cloth, leather, or other such material; also, roughening the surface of
the mould and plunger, or one of them.
Thirdly, the use of the compound dies or moulds illustrated at Figs. 5
and 6.
Fourthly, the form of pipe shewn at Fig. 4, whether such pipe be made of
plastic materials, metal, or other substance.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Spencer, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
THOMAS SPENCER. (L.S.)