IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRYING PLATES, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF CHINA AND EARTHENWARE
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Colin Minton Campbell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 6th
November 1863.
I, COLIN MINTON CAMPBELL, of Stoke-upon-Trent, Esquire, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
DRYING PLATES, AND OTHER ARTICLES OF CHINA AND EARTHENWARE," to be as
follows:-
In manufacturing bollow and flat ware, such as ewers and basins, plates,
saucers, and dishes, each article has in process of manufacture to be dried
previous to its being fired or burnt, and for this purpose they are now placed
on shelves in drying rooms heated by stoves, and boys are employed to take
the plates or other articles in and out of the drying rooms, a work which, from
the fact of the boy employed by a plate maker having to go in and out of the
drying room more than 408 times during the day, and also being obliged to
remain there some time at different periods of the day (the temperature of
the stove frequently being 112° Fahrenheit) is both laborious and injurious
to health. Now the object of this Invention is to enclose the heat, and to
obviate the necessity of boys passing in and out of the drying room to place
the plates or other articles on to or to remove them from the shelves. For
this purpose, I place in the centre of the drying chamber a vertical axis,
from which horizontal arms project, that carry at their outer ends a circular
rack. The outer edge of the circular rack comes within a short distance of
the outer wall of the drying chamber, and in this wall is a slit or opening,

page_text: through which the plates or other articles, together with their moulds, may be
passed or placed on to or removed from the rack. The rack is made with
several shelves one above another, and each shelf is composed of two horizontal
strips or rings of wood, one ring being of larger diameter than the other, so
that a space is left between the rings in order that the heat may circulate
through the moulds. The shelves are divided into compartments by upright
bars of wood, each compartment being made wide enough to contain one plate
or other article with its mould.
The vertical slit or opening in the outer wall of the drying chamber reaches
from top to bottom of the chamber, and is of sufficient width to show two or
more compartments or divisions of the rack, and this slit can be closed by
means of a sliding door.
The circular rack revolves on its axis, and thus admits of its being easily
put in motion, so that when the rack opposite the opening is filled with the
piece of ware, together with its mould, a slight touch of the hand will cause
it to revolve, and then expose to view another set or sets of racks.
The drying chamber is heated from a stove or boiler for hot water placed
outside the drying chamber, the flues or pipes from which pass along or round
the bottom of the chamber, and openings are provided in the outer wall in
order to increase the circulation of air, which, passing through the drying room,
will escape through openings or ventilators at the top of the drying room.