IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND OTHER ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC MATE- RIALS
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Martin Samuelson, of Hull, in the County of
York, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND OTHER ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC MATE-
RIALS."
Sealed the 5th December 1858, and dated the 12th July 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Martin Samuelson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 12th July 1853.
I, MARTIN SAMUELSON, of Hull, in the County of York, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND OTHER ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC MATE-
RIALS" to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the application of hydrostatic power for
working brick and tile moulding machines, such as are known as
"Beart's Patent Brick Machines," as well as clay moulding machines
of various other kinds. According to one modification of the mechanism
employed for this purpose, when intended for moulding bricks, a small
horizontal hydrostatic or water pressure cylinder is placed beneath the

page_text: inoulding box or chamber, and is fitted with a water-tight piston fast upon
a stationary piston rod. This piston rod passes through.a stuffing box at
each end of the water cylinder, and it is firmly held at each extremity
by stationary brackets. In this way the water cylinder is at liberty to
work freely in a horizontal direction, upon or over the fixed piston,
and the upper side of the cylinder is fitted with a projecting piece,
entered into a bottom longitudinal slot along the under side of the
clay receiver or moulding chamber. This chamber is supplied with
clay by a hopper or pug mill standing vertically over, and the projec-
tion of the moving cylinder beneath is made to push the clay so
supplied along the moulding chamber, and out through a moulding die
at each end of the chamber. The bottom slot in the latter is covered
up by suitable traversing plates to prevent the escape of the clay; and
as the traverse of the water cylinder carries the projection or mould-
ing piston to one side to force out the clay before it, the other emptied
end of the chamber receives a fresh supply of clay from the pug mill
above. It is obvious that these details may be variously modified, and
that the cylinder may be worked by various agents. The reversing
action at each stroke is accomplished by a slide valve & set of suitable
water ways
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Martin Samuelson in the Great Seal Patent
Office, on the 12th January 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
MARTIN SAMUELSON, of Hull, in the County of York, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of July, in the year of
our Lord Oue thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seven-
teenth year of Her reign, did; for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Martin Samuelson, Her special licence
that I, the said Martin Samuelson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Martin Samuelson, my execu-

page_text: tors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with; and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the termi
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
THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS AND OTHER ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC MATE-
RIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Martin
Samuelson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 I, the said Martin Samuelson, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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:
My said Invention relates to the application of hydrostatic power
for working brick and tile moulding machines, such as are known as
"Beart's Patent Brick Machines," as well as clay or plastic material
moulding machines of various other kinds. According to one modifi-
cation of the mechanism employed for this purpose, when intended for
moulding bricks, a small horizontal hydrostatic or water pressure cylinder
is placed beneath the moulding box or chamber, and is fitted with a
water-tight piston fast upon a stationary piston rod. This piston rod.
passes through a stufting box at each end of the water cylinder, and it
is firmly held at each extremity by stationary brackets. In this way
the water cylinder is at liberty to work freely in a horizontal direction
upon or over the fixed piston; and the upper side of the cylinder is
fitted with a projecting piece, entered into a bottom longitudinal slot
along the under side of the clay receiver or moulding chamber. This
chamber is supplied with clay by a hopper or pug mill standing vertically
over it, and the projection of the moving cylinder beneath is made to
push the clay so supplied along the moulding chamber, and out through

page_text: a moulding die at each end of the chamber. The bottom slot in the
latter is covered up by suitable traversing plates to prevent the escape
of the clay; and as the traverse of the water cylinder carries the pro-
jection or moulding piston to one side to force out the clay before it,
the other emptied end of the chamber receives a fresh supply of clay
from the pug mill above. It is obvious that these details may be
variously modified, and that the cylinder or motive apparatus may be
worked by various agents. The reversing action at each stroke is
accomplished by a slide or other valve and set of suitable water ways.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I
shall now proceed to describe the several Figures on the Sheets of
Drawings hereunto attached.
Figure 1, on Sheet 1, of my Drawings is a side external elevation of
one modification of my improvements as 'adapted to a Beart's brick
or tile machine. Figure 2, is a plan of the same parts corresponding,
with the addition of the hydrostatic actuating mechanism; and the first
motion shaft for driving the whole. Figure 3, is an enlarged and
partially sectioned detail of the duplex hydrostatic arrangement and the
clay chamber; and Figure 4, is a corresponding end elevation of the
same parts, also partially in section. Figure 5, is a sectional clévation,
showing the tumbler movement for the valve reversing gear. Figure 6,
is a sectional view at right angles to Figure 5, showing the valvular
connections.
Figure 7, on Sheet 2, of my Drawings is a longitudinal section of
another arrangement of hydrostatic pressure apparatus and clay
chamber, wherein a single traversing hydrostatic cylinder and a
stationary piston are used. Figure 8, on the same Sheet is another
modification in partial section, wherein the hydrostatic cylinder is
stationary, but made duplex to work two traversing rains or pistons
connected to work in concert by two bridle pieces. Figure 9, is a
partially sectional detail, wherein the clay chamber piston or expresser
is worked by a stationary hydrostatic cylinder at one side, the single
actuating piston rod being linked directly to the clay traversing appa-
ratus. Figures 10, and 11, are respectively transverse and longitudinal
sections of a slide valve employed in directing the hydrostatic action.

page_text: In the first arrangement, Figures 1, to 6, the clay or plastic material
employed in the manufacture of the bricks or tiles is supplied to the
open top of the chamber or receiver A, through the open bottom of
which the clay is fed into the working chamber beneath by the revo-
lution of the vertical shaft B, driven from the horizontal shaft C,
through the intervention of the bevil wheel and pinion D. The
receiver A, is supported by base flanges upon the top of the stationary
bottom framing E, and beneath it is the horizontal clay chamber F,
with its two opposite end dies or moulding orifices G. The horizontal
plate E, forms the top of the working clay chamber, the sides of which
are composed of the two vertical longitudinal pieces I, bolted to the
plate H. The inside surfaces of the plates I, are grooved longitudinally
to receive the bottom slide plate J, answering as the bottom of the work-
ing chamber, in combination with the upper slide plate K, made long
enough to prevent the descent of the clay at any part of the traverse of
the piston or expresser L, in one piece with the plate J. Thus, as the
piston, with its slides, is made to traverse back and forward through
the clay chamber F, the clay is received into that chamber alternately
on each side of the piston through the aperture M, on the upper side,
so that fresh clay is always being taken into one end of the working
chamber, whilst the previously received mass is being expressed through
the die at the other.
The moulding or expressing traverse is effected by the action of the
two plungers N, which are in one piece or connected at the centre, where
they are attached to a bracket picce O, bolted to the under side of the
slide plate J, or to the piston. The stationary bottom framing of
the machine is extended or elongated, as at P, on each side, to afford
carrying surfaces for the two hydrostatic chambers Q, provided with
longitudinal flanges R, for bolting down to the tops of the standards
pieces P. The flanges or rams N, are fitted to work water-tight in
the cylinders Q, in the usual manner of hydrostatic presses; the two
cylinders being set in reverse or opposed directions, with their stuffing-
box ends facing each other, so that the recession of one plunger is
attended by the corresponding advance or extension of the other. The.
valve chamber governing the admission of the actuating water is

page_text: at S, and the water passes from this valve through the two pipes T, to
each of the plunger cylinders at U. The primary actuating power for
the hydrostatic pressure is derived from the continually revolving
shaft V, carrying an eccentric W, from the ring of which a rod X,
descends to the longer arm of a lever Y, oscillating on a stud centre
at Z. This lever is jointed on each side its main centre at a, to the
plungers of two forcing pumps, arranged in the usual manner, in the
water chamber b. The water, as forced out by the action of these two
pumps, passes off by the pipe c, to the valve chest S, a second pipe
being fitted at d, to conduct water to another machine, if required.
The details of the valve S, are given in Figures 10, and 11, on Sheet 2,
of my Drawings. The valve spindle e, works through a stuffing box
on each side of the valve chest, and carries a single cup slide valve f
governing the three ports g, h, i, in the bottom face plate of the chest.
The two ports g, h, conduct the water out on reverse sides of the
chest, as at j, k, to proceed to each working cylinder, whilst the central
port passes down below to take the exhaust or waste water from cach
cylinder as it exhausts in the return traverse to the return pipe m,
passing back to the water chamber of the pumps. The slide valve
spindle is linked at N; to the rods o, carrying at their other end a
transverse stud pin p, entered into a segmental slot q, in the lower end
of the pendant lever 7. This lever is keyed at its upper end upon
the horizontal shaft s, carried in end bearings at t, in the stationary
framing, and having fast upon one end the transverse tube or tumbler u,
within which is the tumbling ball v. The extreme opposite end of
this shaft has also fast upon it the double angular lever w, the two
inclines of which are arranged to work up against the transverse
study, carried by the working plungers. The effect of this combined
arrangement is, that when the duplex plunger arrives at one end of its
traverse the stud y, which has been working over one of the inclines
of the lever w, at length carries the tumbler n, above or beyond its
horizontal position, when the internal ball v, at once rolls down the
incline so produced, and sharply reverses the angle of the tube, turning
the shafts, and thus shifting the slide valve to the opposite position
in its chest. This movement then allows the water which has just

page_text: caused the plunger traverse to escape back to the pump chamber,
whilst the pressure flow from the pumps is now diverted into the
opposite working cylinder to cause the return traverse of the clay
piston, and at the end of this latter traverse the parts are reversed,
as before. Thus, the continuous pumping action keeps up a constant
flow of the moulded articles from the dies. The segmental slot in
the lever r, is intended to allow of the traverse of the lever connections
without actuating the valve until the exact time. for the return of
the plunger; hence, the length of the slot must be varied to suit special
circumstances; two different lengths being shewn in Figures 1, and 3.
The tumbler u, carries at each end on its lower side a prominence z, to
bear upon
the two buffer pieces 1, on the base frame, and thus sustain
the working shocks. It will be clearly obvious to the practical man,
that these general working details may be very greatly varied. The
three Figures 7, 8, and 9, on Sheet 2, of my Drawings represent
such variations. In each of these cases the working parts of the
actual clay moulding details are similar to those already described. In
Figure 7, for example, the clay is primarily fed into the receiver A,
through the bottom of which it passes into the working chamber B, the
piston C, of which, together with the bottom slides D, E, are caused to
traverse back and forward by the moving bydrostatic pressure cylinder
F, bolted by flanges at G, to the under side of the slide E. This
cylinder F, is bored directly through its entire length, and has end
covers H, with stuffing boxes fitted upon it to work over the stationary
horizontal piston rod I. This rod is bolted at its two extreme ends into
the upper eyes of the stationary pedestals or framing standards J, on the
floor, and the piston K is fast upon the rod at its longitudinal centre.
The cylinder F, is thus supported by the three points of the piston and
the two end stuffing boxes, and works back and forward when in action
upon the fixed rod I. The fluid pressure derived froin the pumping
apparatus of the usual hydrostatic kind is made to act on the two sides
of the piston, and the two opposite ends of the cylinder alternately by
the two ports L, communicating with the slide valve chest M, in the
usual manner adopted in steam engines; N; being the exhaust port,
opening into the cup of the slide.O, for the escape of the waste fluid.-

page_text: The slide valve chest is inverted, and attached to the under side of the
traversing cylinder; and the valve spindle P, working through a stuffing
box at one end, passes also through a guide bracket Q, and is connected
to a
a tumbler arrangement after the manner already described. In
Figure 8, the stationary bottom framing A, carries the horizontal
duplex hydrostatic pressure cylinder B, bolted fast down. This cylinder
is in a single piece, with a central diaphragm C, to form it into two
separate working cylinders, the opposite open ends of which are fitted
with cup leathers or stuffing boxes for the two separate plungers D, to
work through. These plungers are set within the large open bridle or
frame piece E, connected on its upper side with the bottom slide of the
clay piston F, whilst it is guided horizontally at its lower side by work-
ing through a suitable groove in the stationary framing. The water is
supplied to each pressure chamber or cylinder by the valve G, the
spindle H, of which actuated by a tumbler or other movement, as
may be desired. When in reciprocatory traverse action each plunger
alternately presses against its curved end of the open bridle piece E,
thus traversing the clay piston accordingly, one plunger always going
in as the other protrudes. In Figure 9, the slide plates and piston of
the moulding chamber A, are actuated by the piston rod B, linked at
its outer end to the bottom bracket C. The hydrostatic pressure
cylinder D, is set fast upon the separate stationary framing E, to which
it is bolted down. It is closed at the end F, and is bored throughout
to receive the traversing piston G, fast on the inner end of the rod B,
working through an end stuffing box at H. The slide valve of the
water pressure cylinder is at I, beneath, and the water is supplied to
each end of the cylinder alternately by top and bottom side ports in
the usual manner. Instead of water, steam, air, gases, or other fluids
may be used as the motive agent for this machinery.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine
or restrict myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have
had occasion to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made
therefrom without deviating from the principles or main features of my

page_text: Invention. But what I consider to be novel and original, and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of machinery,
apparatus, or means for the manufacture of bricks and other articles
from plastic materials, as herein-before described.
Second, the application and use of the direct action of hydrostatic
pressure in forcing clay and similar plastic materials through dies.
Third, the application and use of direct hydrostatic or steam pressure
to what are known as Beart's Patent Brick and Tile and Pipe
Machines.
Fourth, the system or mode of actuating clay moulding apparatus
by means of duplex pressure cylinders or chambers, as herein-before
described.
Fifth, the application and use in clay moulding machines of traversing
pressure cylinders or chambers and stationary pistons.
Sixth, the system or mode of actuating clay moulding machines by
means of reversed pressure cylinders or chambers, as delineated in
Figure 8, on Sheet 2, of my Drawings.
Seventh, the application and use of the tumbler movement herein-
before described in the manufacture of moulded articles from plastic
materials.
In witness whereof, I, the said Martin Samuelson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred & fifty-four.
Witness, JOHN THELWALL,
MARTIN SAMUELSON. (L.S.)
Clerk, Scott Street Foundry.