CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES PROM CLAY OR OTHER PLASTIC MATERIALS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, IIENRY
DORNING, of Kearsley, near Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Brick and
Tile Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Iler
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West.
minster, the Third day of January, in the thirteenth year of Her reign, and in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Henry Dorning,
Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
Henry Dorning, my exors, adñors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said
Henry Dorning, my exors, adññors, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England and Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Inven-
tion of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING
BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ARTICLES PROM CLAY OR OTHER PLASTIC
MATERIALS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the
said Henry Dorning, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be en-
rolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Henry Dorning, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereto annexed, and the
following explanation thereof, that is to say :-
My improvements in machinery or apparatus for manufacturing bricks,
tiles, and other similar articles from clay or other plastic materials, relate, first,
to the machinery or apparatus employed for forming or moulding the bricks,
tiles, &c.; and secondly, to the machinery or apparatus used for condensing or
consolidating bricks or tiles by means of pressure subsequent to their having
been formed or moulded by hand or machinery, and previous to their being
dried and fired or burnt.
The first part of my improvements consists in placing immediately below
the ordinary "pug mill" (but excentric to it) a circular revolving table. This
revolving table is furnished with eight recesses or moulds (more or less) of
the form and size of the required brick or tile, and as each of these recesses
or moulds comes in succession under the lower opening of the "pug mill " it
becomes filled with clay. The revolving table is caused at certain intervals to
perform a portion of a revolution (say one-eighth), and as each mould in suc-
cession leaves the "pug mill," the brick or tile thus formed is raised by the
hand or foot of the operative, or by self-acting means, and removed, a "pallet
board "being placed in each mould previous to its passing beneath the "pug
mill."
The second part of my Invention is an improvement upon a brick or tile
machine now in use, wherein the bricks or tiles are formed by means of a s
piston or pistons placed beneath the "pug mill," and pressing the clay through
dies. My improvement upon this machine consists in the method of actuating
these pistons, which is as follows:-Upon an upright shaft (actuated by
any convenient means, a worm is keyed, giving motion to a worm wheel
upon an horizontal cranked shaft. There is a crank upon each side of the
worm wheel; these cranks are placed in opposite directions to each other,
and are attached to the pistons by connecting rods or links, so that when one
piston is advancing the other is returning, and thus the progress of the
clay or other plastic material through the machine is continuous and un-
interrupted.
. The third part of my Invention applies to the press for condensing or con-
solidating the bricks or tiles, and consists of a piston acting upwards inside a
mould, and impelled in the same manner as the pistons: in the previously
described machine, namely, by a worm, worm wheel, crank, and connecting
8

page_text: rod, actuated by manual power applied to the periphery of a fly wheel upon
the worm shaft.
The fourth part of my Invention applies also to the pressing of bricks and
tiles, and consists of a machine constructed as follows:-Upon one end of a
main driving shaft is keyed a fly wheel, and upon the other end a spur pinion; .
the driving shaft may be actuated either by a winch handle at each end, or
by steam or other power. The spur pinion gives motion to a cam shaft
placed upon one end thereof; upon the cam shaft are keyed two cams, placed
in opposite positions and acting alternately. The machine is furnished with
two moulds, which are capable of sliding horizontally upon a table, and also
two pressers capable of sliding vertically. As soon as a brick has been place-1
in the mould, the cam acting against a roller or bowl upon a link connected
to the mould slides it immediately beneath the presser or piston, the cam
then raises one end of a lever, the other end of which depresses the piston.
and gives the requisite pressure, and afterwards releasing it, the weight of the
lever raises the presser. The cam then comes into contact with another bowl.
on the link connected to the mould and slides it out from beneath the presser,
and then depressing a lever, causes the other end of the same to raise the
brick or tile out of the mould, which must then be removed by hand and
another substituted, when the operation will proceed as before. The action
of each cam is precisely similar, excepting that as they are placed in opposite
directions they act alternately, one brick receiving its pressure whilst the
other is being removed, and vice versa.
The fifth part of my Invention is a modification of the last-described
machine, the principal difference being that the moulds are fixed upon a table
which is caused to vibrate, so as to bring each mould alternately under the
pressers.
The practical application of my improvements will be better understood
upon referring to the Drawings accompanying these Presents and the following
description thereof, similar letters of reference being placed upon corresponding
parts of the mechanism in all the Figures.
In Sheet 1 of the Drawings, Fig. 1 represents a front elevation, and Fig. 2 a
plan, or horizontal view, of an improved machine for manufacturing bricks and
tiles, drawn to a scale of about two inches to a foot. a, a, represents part of the
cylinder of an ordinary "pug mill;" b, b, is a circular plate or table, excentric
thereto, and capable of revolving, having its upper surface in contact with the
lower surface of the cylinder a. The table 6 is supported upon an upright
spindle c, c, revolving in a foot-step at d, and is furnished with friction rollers
e, e, running upon the upper surface of the frame f. The table is provided

page_text: with eight recesses or moulds 9, 9, which as they pass in succession under
the cylinder of the pug mill become filled or charged with clay. The table b
is caused to perform one-eighth of a revolution at certain intervals by the
following means:-Upon the driving shaft h a pulley i is keyed, which receives
motion by means of a band or strap from any convenient moving power.
Near the lower end of the shaft h a circular plate or disc k is keyed, having a
projecting pin l, which, once in each revolution taking into one of the radial
slots in the star wheel m m, causes it, and consequently the table b, to per-
form one-eighth of a revolution. The table 6 is held steady during the
intervals by the projecting rim n upon the disc k working against the concave
surfaces upon the periphery of the star wheel m, m. Thus it will be evident
that eight bricks or tiles will be formed by this machine at each revolution of
the table b, and as they successively leave the cylinder of the pug mill they
may be raised up out of the moulds by hand by means of levers, as shewn at o
or by any convenient self-acting means. Tho pallet board p (see Fig. 1) is
removed with the brick and a fresh pallet board must be placed in each mould
previous to its passing again beneath the pug mill cylinder.
In Sheet 2 of the Drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan, or horizontal view, of a portable
press for bricks and tiles, drawn to a scale of about two inches to a foot, and
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is an end elevation, and Fig. 4 a
vertical section, taken through about the line A, B, in Fig. 1. a, a, is the frame
of the machine, supported and moveable upon the wheels or rollers b, b; c, c, is
the driving shaft, having a worm d keyed upon it at or near the centre, and a
fly wheel e at one end. The worm d actuates a worm wheelf upon a crank
shaft gi
h is the crank, which impels the piston by means of a connecting
rod or link k; is the mould, and m is the cover thereof, which turns upon
a hinge at n, and is fastened by means of a bolt o. The action of the machine
is as follows: The piston i being at or near its highest position, a brick or
tile upon a "pallet board" p, seo (Figs. 1 and 4,) is placed thereon, the fly
whicel 6,must then be turned by hand until the piston has assumed its lowest
position, or thereabouts, the lid or cover m must then be closed and the bolt o
fastened by means of the lever q. The revolution of the fly wheel must then
be continued until the requisite pressure has been given; the hand being then
withdrawn from the fly wheel, the elasticity of the clay will reverse it suf-
ficiently to allow of the bolt o being unfastened and the lid or cover m raised;
the hand of the operator must then be again applied to the fly wheel until
the brick or tile is raised out of the mould by the piston, when the brick or
tile must be removed on the "pallet board," and another being placed on
the piston, the operation proceeds as before. The application of the above-

page_text: described arrangement of mechanism to actuating the pistons of the ordinary
brick and tile making machines is so evident as to need no further illustration.
In Sheet 8 of the Drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan,
or horizontal view, of another portable pressing machine, drawn to a scale
of about one and a half inch to a foot. a, a, is the framing of the machine,
supported and moreable upon the wheels or rollers 6, 6; the frame a
supports the table c, c, upon which the moulds, d and c slide; the frame a
also supports in suitable bearings the main driving shaft f and the cam
shaft g. Upon one end of the main driving shaft is the fly wheel h, and at
the other the spur pinion i, actuating the cam shaft g by means of a spur
wheel k. Upon the shaft g are keyed two cams l, l. m, m, is a link connect-
ing two levers n and o, the lower extremity of the lever n being attached by a
link p to the mould d. At each end of the link m is a bowl q and r, against
which the cam l acts. s, s, are the vertical pressers, which are raised and
depressed by means of the levers t, t, acted upon by the cams 6, 6; u and v
are the lover and link for raising the brick or tile out of the mould, the upper
end of the link being connected to a spring w. The operation of this
machine is a follows:-A brick or tile upon a "pallet board" having been
placed in the mould d, the fly wheel h is put in motion; the cam / then
coming against the bowl r upon the link m, causes the lever n and link p to
draw the mould under the piston or presser 5. The cam then raises the
lever t, and thus depresses the pistons until the end of the cam has passed the
bowlj; the weight of the lever t then raises the presser s. The cam next
comes into contact with the upper end of the link v, thus causing the lever u
to raise the brick out of the mould, and so on alternately, one brick being
always under the operation of the presser or piston whilst the other is being
discharged or replaced.
In Sheet 4 of the Drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan or horizontal view of a modi-
fication of the above, drawn to a scale of about two inches to a foot; and
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a front elevation, and Fig. 4
a vertical section, taken through about the line A, B, in Fig. 1. a, a, is the
framing of the machine, supporting in suitable bearings the main driving
shaft b, b; c, c, are the driving pulleys, and d is the fly wheel; at the other end
of the shaft b, b, is a pinion e, driving the cam shaft f.f, by means of a spur
whcel g. Upon the shaft fare two cams h, h, which alternately depress the
pressers i, i, the pressers being raised again as soon as released by the cams,
by means of the weighted levers k, k; l, l, is the pressing table, upon which
the moulds m, m, are bolted, and which is mounted and vibrates upon the
upright shaft n, motion being communicated to it from the cam shaft f

page_text: by the following means :-Upon one end of the shaft f is a crank o,
connected to the lever p by a link 9. The lever p is connected to a shaft r
by a pin s, working in a slot in the said lever (see Fig. 1). Upon the
shaft is another lever t, connected by means of a link u to a lever v, keyed
fast upon the upright shaft n. w is a weighted lever, which as the traversing
motion of the link u throws the weight upon either side of the centre of the
lever x, causes the said link to hold the table steady in either position. The
thickness of the brick or tile may be regulated by means of the screw y
below the step of the cam shaft f, and the amount of pressure may be regu-
lated by means of the weighted levers z acting above the said steps. Upon
the wheel g are two pins 1, 1, which act alternately upon levers 2, 2. These
levers are keyed upon two shafts 8, 8, upon which are also keyed two other levers
4, 4, which act against the lower end of the spindles 5, 5, for the purpose of
raising the bricks out of the moulds. The operation of the machine is as
follows: A brick or tile being placed in the mould m, the table / vibrates
upon its centre and takes the mould and brick immediately beneath the
presser i, the weighted lever w holding the table steady, and the slot in the
boss of the lever p allowing the table to remain stationary in that position until
the cam h has brought down the presser i and the weighted lever k returned it.
The further revolution of the crank o then brings that end of the table out
again (taking the other mould under its respective presser). The pin 1 upon
the wheel g then comes into contact with the lever 2 upon the shaft 3, causing
the lever 4 to raise the spindle 5, and thus lift the brick out of the mould,
when it must be removed. The lever 2 then escapes from the pin 1, and the
lever 4 falls by its own weight. Another brick or tile is then placed in the
mould, and the operation proceeds as before.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention, together
with the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I would remark in
conclusion, that I claim as my Invention,―
First, with reference to Sheet 1 of the Drawings, the construction and
application of a machine for manufacturing bricks and tiles, to be applied to
the ordinary "pug mill," having a revolving table with recesses or moulds
formed therein, which pass in succession beneath the lower opening of the
"pug mill."
Secondly, I claim the application and use of a worm and worm wheel in
combination with cranks and connecting rods for impelling the pistons in
those machines now in use wherein the bricks or tiles are formed by pressing
the clay through dies.
And, thirdly, I claim the peculiar arrangements and combinations of

page_text: In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Dorning, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this First day of July, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty.