IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SHAPING AND MOULDING PLASTIC MATERIALS IN THE FORMATION Or EARTHENWARE AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Wood, of Newton Heath, Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR SHAPING AND MOULDING PLASTIC MATERIALS IN THE FORMATION Or
EARTHENWARE AND OTHER ARTICLES."
Sealed the 28th November 1876, and dated the 31st May 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Wood at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 31st May 1876.
JOHN WOOD, of Newton Heath, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SHAPING AND MOULDING PLASTIC
MATERIALS IN THE FORMATION OF EARTHENWARE AND OTHER ARTICLES."
My Invention relates to the manufacture of articles in earthenware, potteryware,
and porcelain, and of crucibles and other similar goods or articles, and consists in
the first place in the employment of revolving rollers in combination with revolving
moulds, or of rollers revolving on axes, which are arranged to revolve around central
axes in combination with fixed or revolving moulds. The said moulds are formed
of plaster of Paris, wood, earthenware, iron, brass, or other suitable metal or
material, according to the description of article to be moulded, and to the clay or
plastic material used. The mould is caused to revolve as in the case of the throwing
wheel, and receives the mass of clay or material which is to be moulded. The
roller or cach roller is fitted to revolve on a shaft, or is fitted or formed with jour-
nals which are arranged to revolve in bearings, and the said roller or rollers is or are
mounted in a frame which can be moved towards and from the mould. In appa-
ratus suitable to be employed in the moulding, say, for example of a circular dish,
the mould is formed to impart the required form to the exterior of the dish, and is
turned and finished to a true and smooth interior surface. The roller is made of
a cylindrical or conical form, or is otherwise shaped to impart the required form to
the interior of the dish, and is arranged to revolve upon a vertical, horizontal, or
inclined axis, the inner end of the roller shaping the bottom of the dish, and the
circumference of the roller the side of the dish, or a separate roller may be used to
shape the bottom of the dish. The interior of the mould is preferably oiled or
lubricated before the clay is placed therein. The mould with the contained clay is
caused to revolve, and the roller is pressed into the mould until the clay is worked
[Price Gd.]

page_text: and moulded into the required form and thickness. In some or in all cases I may
impart a positive revolving motion to the roller or rollers. When moulding poly-
gonal, oval, or other articles not circular in form, the roller or rollers is or are made
of such a shape as to impart the required form, and is or are connected with the
driving motion of the inould so as to revolve in unison therewith.
In some cases I form the mould in two or more sections capable of being separated
or noved apart so that a section or sections of the mould may be withdrawn from
the moulded articlo or be raised or pushed outwards so as to withdraw the article
from contact with the other sections, or I line the mould with cloth or with a
woven or felted fabric, which aids in the removal of the article from the mould,
and is subsequently stripped from the moulded article.
In some cases I may employ a mould to shape the interior of the article in
conjunction with a roller or with rollers to shape the exterior of the article. When
moulding jars or articles having mouths of less diameter than other parts of their
interiors I lower or insert the roller into the mould, and then move the roller
sideways to effect the moulding.
According to a second part of my Invention I employ solid or hollow moulds
made of ice, especially in the formation of narrow mouthed articles. Liquid is
frozen in a suitable mould, and the solid or hollow mass of ice so obtainerl is em-
ployed as a revolving mould upon which the clay is moulded, the ice being sub-
sequently melted.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Wood in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th November
1876.
JOHN WOOD, of Newton Heath, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SHAPING AND MOULDING PLASTIC
MATERIALS IN THE FORMATION OF EARTHENWARE AND OTHER ARTICLES."
My Invention relates to the manufacture of articles in earthenware, pottery ware,
porcelain, and of crucibles and other similar goods or articles, and consists in the
employment of revolving rollers in combination with revolving moulds, or of
rollers revolving on axes which are arranged to revolve around central axes in
combination with fixed or revolving moulds. The said moulds are forined of
plaster of Paris, wood, earthenware, iron, brass, or other suitable metal or material,
according to the description of article to be moulded, and to the nature of the clay
or plastic material used. The mould is caused to revolve as in the case of the
throwing wheel, and receives the mass of clay or material which is to be moulded.
The roller or each roller is fitted to revolve on a shaft, or is fitted or formned with
journals which are arranged to revolve in bearings, and the said roller or rollers
is or are mounted in a frame which can be moved towards and from the mould.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood I have appended
hereunto a Sheet of Drawings made about one-eighth of the full size and marked
with letters of reference, corresponding marks indicating the same parts in the
various Figures.
Referring in this place to the said Drawings, Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of
a machine for moulding earthenware articles.
In the said Figure a is a table which is secured to the upper end of a vertical
spindle b, which is fitted to revolve in bearings which are fixed to the projecting
sides of the standard A. The said spindle is actuated by means of a shaft c which
is provided with a cone strap pulley d, and is fitted to revolve in bearings in the
standards A and c. The said shaft is connected by bevil gearing with the said
spindle. The said cone pulley is formed and fitted with a conical friction clutch
of an ordinary description, and the said clutch is arranged to be thrown into and
out of gear by means of a hand lever g. The rotation of the tablo A may thus be
started or arrested as required. The spindle b is bored throughout and a rod h

page_text: is fitted to slide within the said spindle. On the lower end of the said rod is fixed
a cross head to which are attached two chains which pass over pulleys i, which are
formed on a shaft j which is fitted to revolve in bearings in the projecting sides of
the standards A. The said shaft can be rotated when required by means of a
hand lever, which is fixed on the said shaft. Only one set of the chains and pulleys
is seen in the Figure, the other set being behind the one seen and on the otlier
side of the spindle b. A balance weight is fixed to the free end of each chain. On
the table a are fixed portions of the mould B, represented in section, and which is
also represented in plan by Fig. 2. In the example the said mould is formed in
eight sections, marked 1 and 2, one half of the sections, say, for example, those
marked 1, being secured to the said table, as scen to the left hand in Fig. 1, the
intermediate sections 2 being hinged by their lower ends to a circular disc which
forms the bottom of the mould, as scen to the left hand in Fig. 1. Each of the
sections is formed of cast or malleable iron, or other suitable metal lined with wood,
the wood being turned to impart the desired form to the outside of the article,
which, in the example, is supposed to be an ordinary carthenware bread pan. The
front of the standard A. is planed to receive a sliding carriage C, which is also
represented in Fig. 3, which is a view taken at right angles to Fig 1, and shows
the slides upon the front of the said standard. On the said carriago is mounted
a bracket casting m which is secured by means of four bolts which pass through
horizontal slots in the said carriage, as seen in Fig. 3. The bolt holes in the
bracket m are also slotted, the arrangement permitting the said bracket to be
moved to and fro horizontally, and also to be set with its face either vertical or
inclined to some extent in either direction from the vertical. The said face of the
bracket is planed to receive a plate n, which is arranged to be slid to and fro on the
said face by means of a screw o. A block p is fitted to swivel on the plate n, and
in the said block is fixed the shank of a spindle upon which a roller D is fitted to
revolve. By turning the said block upon the plate n the axis of the said roller
can be set in a vertical position or be inclined to any desired extent, and when so
set can be secured in such position by tightening the four bolts, seen in Fig. 1.
The roller D is made of wood, or is covered externally with wood, and is turned
to a shape suitable to impart the desired internal form to the article. The
carriage is arranged to be moved up and down upon the standard by means of
a screw 2, which is fitted to revolve in bearings and works in a nut attached to
the said carriage. The said screw is seen in Fig. 4 and also in Fig. 5, which
illustrates parts which are concealed within the standard A. On the lower end of
the said screw is fixed a bevil spur wheel 2, with which gears two bevil wheels
which aro loosely mounted on a shaft 8, which is fitted to revolve in bearings and
is provided with a strap pulley by means of which it is caused to revolve. A
sliding clutch formed to engage with either of the two bevil wheels on the shaft s
is mounted on the said shaft and is arranged to be slid in either direction by
means of a sliding bar u, which can be actuated by a lever handle v, the whole
arrangement constituting a reversing motion by means of which the carriage C
can be caused to slide upwards or downwards as desired. A third bevil wheel
gears with the wheel and is fixed upon the inner end of a short shaft, which is
mounted in a bracket which is bolted to the standard A, and on the outer end of
the said short shaft is fixed a hand wheel w, whereby the carriage C can be moved
up and down by hand.
The method of using the apparatus is somewhat as follows:--A suitable quantity
of clay having been placed within the mould, which is caused to revolve, the lever v
is moved so as to set the screw in motion to bring down the carriage C. The
roller D is thereby pressed upon the clay and is caused to revolve, and the carriage
continuing to descend the clay becomes spread over the interior of the mould by
the action of the said roller, as is indicated in Fig. 1, wherein the moulded clay is
represented by the heavy black line. It will be seen that the lower end of the
roller shapes the bottom of the article, and the circumference of the roller the sides
of the article. When the moulding is completed to roller D is raised out of the

page_text: mould by reversing the motion of the carriage C. The shaft j is now turned by
means of the lever, whereby the rod is pushed up within the spindle b, carrying
with it the disc Z. As the sections 2 are hinged to the said disc they are also raised
therewith, and the moulded article is thereby raised away from the fixed sections.
When the disc is raised sufficiently the hinged sections of the mould fall away
from the moulded article or are withdrawn therefrom, and the said article may
then be removed from the said disc. It is necessary or advisable to lubricate the
mould and roller, and I find petroleum or creosote oil to be suitable for this purpose.
It will be understood that the forms of the moulds and rollers are made suitable
to the forms of the articles to be moulded. When moulding jars or articles having
mouths of lesser diameter than other parts of their interiors I lower or insert the
roller into the mould and then move the roller sideways by turning the screw 8.
Fig. 5 illustrates the action of the roller when moulding such articles. To mould
an article of this form it would be necessary to hinge all the sections of the mould
to the bottom disc or to one another, or to so otherwise construct the mould as that
it could be withdrawn from the moulded article, as the shape of the article will
not permit of its being pushed out of the mould, as in the case of the other
example.
Although I have described the mould and roller as being formed of and lined
with wood, I do not confine myself to the use of this material nor to the method of
constructing the moulds, as such method may be varied as found to be most
suitable in each case. I may employ more than one revolving roller in connection
with a single mould, as, for example, one roller may be employed to shape the side,
and another ruller the bottom of an article. I may impart a positive revolving
motion to the roller as well as to the mould. This would be especially the case
when moulding polygonal or oval articles, or articles other than circular in form.
In such cases I should employ rollers so shaped as to impart the required forms to
the articles when the said rollers are connected with the driving motion and caused
to revolve at speeds proportionate to the speeds of the moulds. In some cases I
may employ a mould to give form to the interior of the article in conjunction with
a roller or with rollers to shape the exterior of the article.
In my Provisional Specification my Invention was divided into two parts, but I
have purposely not herein included the second of the two parts, and therefore mako
no claim thereto, but I would have it to be understood that I do claim-
First. The employment of revolving rollers working in concert with revolving
moulds, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before set forth and indicated.
And, secondly. The moulds formed with fixed and hinged sections and employed
in concert with revolving rollers, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before
set forth and indicated.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Wood, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand night hundred and movante-cie
Signed and sealed by the said John
Wood in the presence of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Patentec,
3, Princess Street,
Manchester.
JUDN YOUD (L.S.)