IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS AND MEANS FOR OR CONNECTED WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF TILES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF POTTERY
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Boulton, of Burslem, in the County of Stafford,
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
AND MEANS FOR OR CONNECTED WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF TILES AND OTHER
ARTICLES OF POTTERY."
Sealed the 3rd May 1878, and dated the 22nd February 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Boulton at the. Office
"IMPROVE-
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd February 1878.
WILLIAM BOULTON, of Burslem, in the County of Stafford, Engineer.
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS AND MEANS FOR OR CONNECTED WITH THE
MANUFACTURE OF TILES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF POTTERY."
This Invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in machinery or
apparatus and means for or connected with the manufacture of tiles and other
articles of pottery.
The Invention has reference more particularly to apparatus for preparing clay
for making encaustic and plain tiles and articles in pottery, to apparatus for com-
pressing the prepared clay into such articles, to inlay or pattern plates for floor or
other tiles and tiles made in relief, and to apparatus for forming the " Baggars ог
receptacles used for firing the tiles or pottery ware.
"
In order that the fluid clay should be properly prepared for manipulation in the
manufacture of tiles and other articles of pottery it is usual to pass it through
filter presses, whereby the excess of moisture is removed, and the filtered clay is
somewhat consolidated.
The ordinary press pump by which the liquid clay is forced into the filter press
has an escape valve, which allows the surplus fluid or material which the filtration
will not take to overflow at each stroke of the pump.
Now in order to secure a more uniform pressure of the pump and obviate
excessive overflow I combine with the pump an additional weighted ram, which is
forced up by the surplus material as the pump is performing its down or forcing
stroke, and which in turn forces the said surplus material down into the press on

page_text: the return stroke of the pump ram; or I can use a pair of excentrically mounted
toothed wheels, which would cause the up stroke of the pump to be quicker than
the down stroke; or a pair of elliptical toothed wheels, which would cause the up-
and-down stroke to be slow, and the motion over each centre to be quicker.
The filtering chambers of the filtering press contain cloth or canvas linings for
filtering purposes, and they have previously been made with deep straight edged
grooves, which are detrimental to the wear of the filtering cloths; they have also
been made with curved grooves at distances apart, and sometimes with plain
surfaces.
Now in order to render the cloths more durable, and to a degree strengthen the
chambers, I corrugate the sides thereof continuously with very shallow grooves.
And in order to obviate the necessity of disconnecting the usual conduit taps
from their respective press chambers when the cloths are required to be removed
for washing, and without necessitating the removal of the nozzles from their respec-
tive cloths, I connect the conduit taps and their respective nozzles by means of
branches, which can be easily unscrewed, allowing of the desired removal without
the usual troublesome disconnections of the cloths.
A filter press consists generally of, say, 24 filtering chambers; and in order to
empty them of the filtered and compressed clay each chamber is at present lifted
separately by direct hand power, and as they are emptied they are again piled one
upon another for refilling. As the chambers and the contained clay are very heavy
this is very laborious work, and to avoid the need of such I place a pulley over
the position of, say, each 8 chambers, and I noose a rope round each such series
and pass it round the nearest revolving shaft; a slight pull at its other end will
then cause the series of chambers to be turned over all together with the open
sides upwards, and I continue this until all the chambers constituting a press are
turned up in sections of 8 (or more or less as desired); the workmen then take the
clay out of the chambers, one by one, and as they will then be very much lighter
they replace them by hand singly in their respective positions for refilling.
I also propose to use pulley blocks, jacks, levers, or other such appliances to lift
the sections or series of chambers where there is no revolving shaft at hand.
.
For compressing the prepared clay into encaustic or plain tiles or other pottery
articles, according to one method I employ an hydraulic press, consisting of the
usual pump, cistern, cylinder, and ram. I also provide a horizontal table carried
by a shaft, on which is a bevil wheel actuated intermittently by a wheel provided
with teeth only on part of its periphery, and carried by a bottom line shaft, which
receives motion by suitable gearing from the same top line shaft from which the
pump is driven. The table carries (say) four moulds at equidistant points, and is
intermittently rotated by the said means one-quarter of a revolution at a time.
Above the table is a hopper, which contains the clay to be compressed, and
which guides a supply of clay into one mould while the clay in another mould is
being compressed by the press, which is effected as follows:-Each mould is pro-
vided with a false bottom, upon which the clay is fed from the hopper, and when
the mould supplied with clay comes over the press the ram is actuated and ascends,
and presses the said false bottom upwards, and compresses the clay between it and
the top mould, which is carried by an overhanging bracket or standard, and thus
the tile or article is formed; the ram then returns or falls, and the table is partly
rotated till another mould is under the hopper, and another one under the top
mould, when the action is repeated. As each mould leaves the press its false
bottom, by means of a roller or wheel it carries, runs up an incline carried under
the table, and which causes the formed tile to be lifted clear of the sides of the
bottom mould, so that it can be removed without spoiling.
The tap, which turns the pressure on or off the ram, is actuated at the proper
times by a cam excentric on the bottom line shaft.
For each quality of kind of clay I use in making the tiles, I use a separate
hopper, and each hopper may be made with a self-acting spring closing bottom, the
same being opened by the moulds in approaching to be filled,

page_text: I can also use a duplicate ram sufficiently weighted to keep up a continuous
pressure in the manner herein-above referred to.
If an inlay tile is required the inlay can be put in by means of pattern plates
herein-after referred to, previously to the clay being added from the hoppers to
form the back of the tile.
The compressing of the prepared clay may also be effected by means of a screw
press of the following improved construction, as regards its self-acting, driving,
feeding, and delivery motions:-I mount two driving pulleys, which are worked
by a strap or cord in opposite directions in a swinging frame carried by a shaft,
and their spindles I provide with long friction pulleys, which alternately work
against the periphery of the usual large fly wheel of the press in the up-and-down
strokes thereof, being caused to do so by the rising and falling motion of the fly
wheel itself in this manner. The side edges of the fly wheel in rising and falling
come against one or another of two small rollers carried by a vertical rod held in
suitable bearings, and which is connected at its bottom to a counterpoised hand
lever, an arm of which is connected by a link to a crank on the said shaft of the
swinging or turning frame, and thus the rising of the fly wheel, which is caused
by one of the said friction pulleys, acts on one of these rollers, and by means of
the arrangement of levers causes the turning of the said frame, which brings the
other friction pulley to act on the fly wheel and reverse its motion, and the falling
thereof in similarly affecting the frame causes its own motion to be again
reversed.
The feeding of the clay to the moulds is effected by the rising of the top mould,
which actuates a centred lever connected by a rod to a bell-crank lever, the long
arm of which is thus caused by acting against a catch on a rod kept in line by a
weighted chain to thrust a measuring box (similar to what has previously been
used) from under the hopper containing the clay to over the mould, into which
the clay then drops, by which time the said long arm slips the catch and the
weight brings the box back under the hopper for a fresh measure or supply of clay.
The box is open at the top and bottom, and when under the hopper it rests on a
bottom plate, and when passing to over the mould it carries with it a top plate,
which prevents any clay falling from out of the hopper. The descent of the top
mould reverses the said centred lever, which slips past the catch and takes its
position opposite and on the other side thereof, ready, upon the ascent of the top
mould, to repeat the above motion.
The feeding motion of the box pushes the formed tile off the bottom mould, the
same having previously been raised to a level with the top of the latter by a false
bottom, with which the latter is provided, and which is actuated also by the rising
of the top mould by means of a hanging weighted lever passing through an aperture
in the table, allowing of a little freedom of lateral motion, and formed with a
rounded notch, which catches a pin carried by a rod depending from the said false
bottom, and carries it up, until the tile is level with the top of the bottom mould,
when it is pushed off by the said filling box, as above described, immediately after
which the notch slips the pin and the false bottom falls, and the clay is again fed
thereonto. It is usual in hand and power driven presses to strike two blows on
the tile, but I make the centre slide which carries the top mould much heavier
than usual, and give the first pressure by means of the gravity thereof, giving the
same a certain liberty of action in the screw end or garter, which allows a little
time to elapse (to let the air escape from the mould) before the final pressure comes
on the clay by the descent of the screw. The tiles are thus better consolidated,
and not liable to split through having air forced into them.
The plates I use for placing the various inlay color clays I form by tieing
together the different sections of pattern plates (which have heretofore been used
singly) by means of a cross bar cut out in the under side, so as not to interfere
with the pattern of the clay or encaustic tile being formed. The stampers in the
top plate, by which the colored clays are consolidated, are suitably formed to corre-

page_text: spond with the placing of the sections and cross bars. By these means I obviate
the necessity for the many separate pattern plates which have heretofore been used,
and require a less number.
In tiles ornamented with very thin colors I use thin pattern plates made of zinc
or other suitable material (somewhat similar to stencil plates), and I lay the color
either with pulverized or liquid clay, slightly consolidating it by means of a flat
india-rubber or other suitable stamper, and filling in the backing afterwards. In
this way very fine devices can be made.
In forming tiles in relief if many colors are required I put (say) a centre color
imitative (say) of a crucifer or rose by means of one pattern plate or strip, and
another color of clay (say) for surrounding leaves or branches by means of another
pattern plate or strip; or I can place the surrounding clay round about or by
means of a central solid plate, and after removing this plate fill the space it occupied
with another color of clay, and I form the backing or border of any other colored
clays, which when pressed consolidates the whole.
If there is any difficulty in drawing the tile out with the relief or ornamental
work outwards I use a false bottom, which can slide off the bottom mould, and can
be turned over on a swivel, pivot, or other similar arrangement to deliver the tile
with the raised ornament upwards, and the back of it downwards.
The tiles or other articles as thus formed require to be fired in kilns or ovens,
and to do this they are usually placed in "saggara," and in order to form the
saggars of an elliptical or other kindred or suitable shape with greater facility than
they have hitherto been formed by hand I employ a rotating mould and an inner
profile or shaping tool. The mould is carried on a shaft driven by proportionate
gearing, motion being transmitted by a shaft driven by pulleys or other gearing,
and on which is a cam corresponding to the desired shape of the saggar, and which,
by means of an arm and slide, actuates the arm carrying the profile in such a
manner as to cause it to shape the saggar internally as desired. The parts of this
shaping apparatus are carried by a suitable framing or brackets.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Boulton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd August
1878.
WILLIAM BOULTON, of Burslem, in the County of Stafford, Engineer. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS AND MEANS FOR OR CONNECTED WITH THE
MANUFACTURE OF TILES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF POTTERY."
This Invention, which relates to certain new and useful improvements in
machinery or apparatus and means for or connected with the manufacture of tiles
and other articles of pottery, is illustrated on the accompanying Sheets of Drawings
in Figures 1 to 25, which will herein-after be severally referred to.
The Invention has reference more particularly to apparatus for preparing clay
for making encaustic and plain tiles and articles in pottery, to apparatus for com-
pressing the prepared clay into such articles, to inlay or pattern plates for floor or
other tiles and tiles made in relief, and to apparatus for forming the " saggis or
receptacles used for firing the tiles or pottery ware.
"
In order that the fluid clay should be properly prepared for manipulation in the
manufacture of tiles and other articles of pottery it usual to pass it through filter
presses, whereby the excess of moisture is removed and the filtered clay is some-
what consolidated.
The ordinary press pumps by which the liquid clay is forced into the filter press
has an escape valve, which allows the surplus fluid or material which the filtration
will not take to overflow at each stroke of the pump.
Now in order to secure a more uniform pressure of the pump and obviate
excessive overflow I combine with the pump, in the manner illustrated in Figure 1
of the accompanying Sheets of Drawings, an additional weighted ram 1, which is
forced up by the surplus material as the pump is performing its down or forcing
stroke, and which in turn forces the said surplus material down into the press on
the return stroke of the pump ram. Or I can use a pair of eccentrically mounted
toothed wheels 2, as shown in Figure 2, and which would cause the up stroke of the
pump to be quicker than the down stroke; or a pair of elliptical toothed wheels 3,
as shown in Figure 3, and which would cause the up-and-down strokes to be slow
and the motion over each centre to be quicker.
The filtering chambers of the filter press contain cloth or canvas linings for
filtering purposes, and they have previously been made with deep straight edged
grooves, which are detrimental to the wear of the filtering cloths; they have also
been made with curved grooves at distances apart, and sometimes with plain
surfaces.
Now in order to render the cloths more durable, and to a degree strengthen the
chambers, I corrugate the sides thereof continuously with very shallow grooves 4,
in the manner shown most clearly in the plan view, Figure 4.
And in order to obviate the necessity of disconnecting the usual conduit pipes 5
from their respective press chambers 6 when the cloths are required to be removed
for washing, and without necessitating the removal of the nozzles 7 from their
respective cloths, I connect the conduit taps and their respective nozzles by means
of branches 8, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, and which can be easily unscrewed,
allowing of the desired removal without the usual troublesome disconnections of
the cloths.
-
In some cases, where such an arrangement would be preferable, I dispense with
the conduit taps by boring a hole 0, as shown in Figure 7, through each chamber
or plank 6, the holes being arranged in a continuous line, and so arranging the
cloths that they will of themselves form a conduit. The hole is formed or provided
with projecting washers, so as to admit of a ring of india-rubber, leather, or other
suitable material fastened to the cloth being sunk in the grooves 10.
'
A filter press consists generally of (say) twenty-four filtering chambers, and in
order to empty them of the filtered and compressed clay each chamber is at present

page_text: lifted separately by hand, and as they are emptied they are again piled one upon
another for refilling. As the chambers and the contained clay are very heavy this
is very laborious work, and to avoid the need of such I place a pulley 11 over the
position of (say) each eight chambers; and I noose a rope 12 round each such series,
in the manner illustrated in Figures 6 and 8, and pass it round the nearest
revolving shaft 13; a slight pull at its other end will then cause the series of
chambers to be turned over all together with the open sides upwards, and I con-
tinue this until all the chambers constituting a press are turned up in sections of
eight (or more or less, as required); the workmen then take the clay out of the
chambers, one by one, and as they will then be very much lighter they replace them
by hand singly in their respective positions for refilling.
I also propose to use pulley blocks, jacks, levers, or other such appliances to lift
the sections or series of chambers where there is no revolving shaft at hand.
For compressing the prepared clay into encaustic or plain tiles, or other pottery
articles, according to one method, illustrated in Figures 9 to 11, I employ a
hydraulic press consisting of the usual pump 14, cistern 15, cylinder 16, and ram 17.
I also provide a horizontal table 18 carried by a shaft 19, on which is a bevil
wheel 20 actuated intermittently by a wheel 21, provided with teeth only on part
of its periphery, and carried by a bottom line shaft 22, which receives motion by
suitable gearing 23 from the same top line shaft 24, from which the pump is driven.
The table 18 carries (say) four moulds 25 at equidistant points, and is inter-
mittently rotated by the above-described means one quarter of a revolution at a
time.
Above the table is a hopper 26, which contains the clay to be compressed, and
which guides a supply of clay into one mould while the clay in another mould is being
compressed by the ram, which is effected as follows:-Each mould is provided with
a false bottom 27, upon which the clay is fed from the hopper, and when the mould
supplied with clay comes over the press, as shown most clearly in Figure 9, the
ram is actuated and ascends and presses the said false bottom upwards, and com-
presses the clay between it and the top mould 28, which is carried by an over-
hanging bracket or standard 29, and thus the tile or article is formed. The ram
then returns or falls, and the table is partly rotated till another mould 25 is under
the hopper and another one under the top mould, when the action is repeated. As
each mould leaves the press its false bottom is caused to rise within it by means of
a roller or wheel 30 it carries, which runs up an incline 31 carried by the framing
32 under the table 18, and the formed tile is thus lifted clear of the sides of the
nould 25, so that it can be removed without spoiling.
The tap 33, which turns the pressure on or off the ram 17, is actuated at the
proper times by a cam or excentric 34 on the shaft 22.
For each quality or kind of clay I use in making the tiles I use a separate
hopper 26, and each hopper may be made with a self-acting spring closing bottom,
the same being opened by the moulds 25 in approaching to be filled or actuated in
opening and closing by the following arrangement of mechanism, shown in the detached
view, Figure 25-The slide or bottom (58) of the hopper, which keeps the clay
from falling until the moulds are under the hopper, is attached to a lever 83
centred on a pin 84 carried by the framing 32, and as the table 18 moves round, it
is actuated by pins 85, 86, carried by the lower and upper surfaces respectively of
the table, and the first of which as the mould comes round catches the lower end
of the lever 83 and opens the slide 58, so as to give the mould then under the
hopper sufficient clay, and the other of which as the mould passes on catches the
upper end of the lever 83 and again closes the slide, and these motions are repeated
at the passage of each mould under the hopper.
I can also use a duplicate ram sufficiently weighted to keep up a continuous
pressure in the manner herein-above described.
If an inlay tile is required the inlay can be put in by means of pattern plates,
as herein-after described, previously to the clay being added from the hoppers to
form the back of the tile.

page_text: The compressing of the prepared clay may also be effected by means of a screw
press, illustrated in Figures 12 to 14, and of the following improved construction as
regards its self-acting, driving, feeding, and delivery motions:-I mount two
driving pulleys 35 which are worked by a strap or cord in opposite directions in a
swinging frame 36 carried by a shaft 37, and their spindles 38 I provide with long
friction pulleys 39 which alternately work against the periphery of the usual large
fly wheel 40 of the press in the up-and-down strokes thereof being caused to do so
The side
by the rising-and-falling motion of the fly wheel itself in this manner.
edges of the fly wheel in rising and falling come against one or other of two small
rollers 41 carried by a vertical rod 42 held in suitable bearings 43, and which is
connected at its bottom to a counterpoised hand lever 44, an arm 45 of which is
connected by a link 46 to a crank 47 on the shaft 37 of the frame 36, and thus the
rising of the fly wheel which is caused by one of the friction pulleys 39 acts on one
of the rollers 41, and by means of the arrangement of levers. 44, 45, 46, 47, causes
the turning of the frame 36 which brings the other friction pulley 39 to act on the
fly wheel and reverse its motion; and the falling thereof in similarly affecting the
frame causes its own motion to be again reversed.
The feeding of the clay to the moulds 25 is effected, as shown in Figure 15, by
the rising of the top mould 28 which actuates a central lever 48 connected by a rod
49 to a bell-crank lever 50, the long arm 51 of which is thus caused by acting
against a catch 52 on a rod 53 kept in line by a weighted chain 54 to thrust a
measuring box 55 (similar to what has previously been used) from under the hopper
26 containing the clay to over the mould 25 into which the clay then drops, by
which time the arm 51 slips the catch 52, and the weight 56 brings the box 55
back under the hopper for a fresh measure or supply of clay. The box is open at
the top and bottom, and when under the hopper it rests on a bottom plate 57, and
when passing to over the mould it carries with it a top plate 58 which prevents
The descent of the mould 28 reverses the
any clay falling from out of the hopper.
said lever 50 which slips past the catch 52, and takes its position opposite and on
the other side thereof, ready upon the ascent of the mould 28 to repeat the above
motion.
The feeding motion of the box 55 pushes the formed tile off the mould 25, the
same having previously been raised to a level with the top of the latter by a false
bottom 27, with which the latter is provided, and which is actuated, as illustrated
in Figure 16, also by the rising of the mould 28 by means of a hanging weighted
lever 59 passing through an aperture 60 in the table 18, allowing of a little freedom
of lateral motion, and formed with a rounded notch 61 which catches a pin 62
carried by a weighted rod 63 depending from a false bottom 27, and carries it up
until the tile is level with the top the mould 25, when it is pushed off by the box
55 as above described, immediately after which the notch 61 slips the pin 62 and
the false bottom 27 falls, and the clay is again fed thereonto. It is usual in hand
and power driven presses to strike two blows on the tile, but I make the centre
slide 64 which carries the top mould 28 much heavier than usual, as illustrated in
Figure 17, and give the first pressure by means of the gravity thereof, giving the
same a certain liberty of action in the screw end or garter 65 which allows a little
time to elapse (to let the air escape from the mould 25) before the final pressure
comes on the clay by the descent of the screw. The tiles are thus better consoli-
dated and not liable to split through having air forced into them.
The plates I use for placing the various inlay color clays I form as illustrated in
Figures 18 and 19, by tieing together the different sections 66 of pattern plates
(which have heretofore been used singly) by means of a cross bar 67 cut out in the
under side so as not to interfere with the pattern of the clay or encaustic tile being
formed. The stampers 68 of the top plate 69 by which the colored clays are con-
solidated, are suitably formed to correspond with the placing of the sections 66 and
cross bars 67. By these means I obviate the necessity for the many separate
pattern plates which have heretofore been used, and require a less number.
In tiles ornamented with very thin colors I use thin pattern plates made of zinc

page_text: or other suitable material (somewhat similar to stencil plates), and I lay the color
either with pulverized or liquid clay, slightly consolidating it by means of a flat
india-rubber or other suitable stamper, and filling in the backing afterwards; in this
way very fine devices can be made.
In forming tiles in relief, if many colors are required, I put (say) a centre color
imitative (say) of a crucifer or rose, as shown in Figures 20 and 21, by means of
one pattern plate or strip 70, Figure 22, and another color of clay (say) for
surrounding leaves or branches by means of another pattern plate or strip 71,
Figure 23; or I can place the surrounding clay round about, or by means of a
central solid plate, and after removing this plate fill the space it occupied with
another color of clay; and I form the backing or border of any other colored clay,
which when pressed consolidates the whole.
To obviate any difficulty in drawing the tile out with the relief or ornamental
work downwards, I use a false bottom which can slide off the bottom mould, and
can be turned over on a swivel, pivot, or other similar device to deliver the tile with
the raised ornament upwards, and the back of it downwards.
The tiles or other articles as thus formed require to be fired in kilns or ovens,
and to do this they are usually placed in "saggars," and in order to form the
saggars of an elliptical or other kindred or suitable shape with greater facility than
they have hitherto been formed by hand, I employ a rotating mould 72, and an
inner profile or shaping tool 73, as illustrated in Figure 24. The mould is carried
on a shaft 74 driven by proportionate gearing 75, motion being transmitted by a
shaft 76, driven by pulleys 77 or other gearing, and on which is a cam 78 corre-
sponding to the desired shape of the saggar, and which by means of a lever 79 and
slide 80 actuates the arm 81, carrying the profile in such a manner as to cause it to
shape the saggar internally as desired. The parts of this shaping apparatus are
carried by a suitable framing or brackets 82.
Having now described the nature and objects of my said Invention, together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical
effect, I would remark in conclusion that without confining myself to the precise
details I have herein-before described and referred to in carrying out my Invention
in practice, what I claim as my Invention is, the above-described improvements in
the machinery or apparatus and means for or connected with the manufacture of
tiles and other articles of pottery, by the application and use of which the said
manufacture is greatly facilitated, economised, and improved, substantially as
described, and as illustrated in the accompanying Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Boulton, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Witness to the signature of
Wm. Boulton hereto,
THOMAS ARROWSMITH,
61, Navigation Road,
Burslem,
in the County of Stafford,
August 20th, 1878.
WILLIAM BOULTON. (L.S.)

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Boulton, of Burslem; in the County of Stafford,
"
Engineer, for the Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
AND MEANS FOR OR CONNECTED WITH THE MANUFACTURE OF TILES AND OTHER
ARTICLES OF POTTERY."
Sealed the 3rd May 1878, and dated the 22nd February 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Boulton at the Office
"IMPROVE-
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd February 1878.
WILLIAM BOULTON, of Burslem, in the County of Stafford, Engineer.
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS AND MEANS FOR OR CONNECTED WITH THE
MANUFACTURE OF TILES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF POTTERY."
This Invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in machinery or
apparatus and means for or connected with the manufacture of tiles and other
articles of pottery.
The Invention has reference more particularly to apparatus for preparing clay
for making encaustic and plain tiles and articles in pottery, to apparatus for com-
pressing the prepared clay into such articles, to inlay or pattern plates for floor or
other tiles and tiles made in relief, and to apparatus for forming the "saggars" or
receptacles used for firing the tiles or pottery ware.
"
In order that the fluid clay should be properly prepared for manipulation in the
manufacture of tiles and other articles of pottery it is usual to pass it through
filter presses, whereby the excess of moisture is removed, and the filtered clay is
somewhat consolidated.
The ordinary press pump by which the liquid clay is forced into the filter press
has an escape valve, which allows the surplus fluid or material which the filtration
will not take to overflow at each stroke of the pump.
Now in order to secure a more uniform pressure of the pump and obviate
excessive overflow I combine with the pump an additional weighted ram, which is
forced up by the surplus material as the pump is performing its down or forcing
stroke, and which in turn forces the said surplus material down into the press on

page_text: the return stroke of the pump ram; or I can use a pair of excentrically mounted
toothed wheels, which would cause the up stroke of the pump to be quicker than
the down stroke; or a pair of elliptical toothed wheels, which would cause the up-
and-down stroke to be slow, and the motion over each centre to be quicker.
The filtering chambers of the filtering press contain cloth or canvas linings for
filtering purposes, and they have previously been made with deep straight edged
grooves, which are detrimental to the wear of the filtering cloths; they have also
been made with curved grooves at distances apart, and sometimes with plain
surfaces.
Now in order to render the cloths more durable, and to a degree strengthen the
chambers, I corrugate the sides thereof continuously with very shallow grooves.
And in order to obviate the necessity of disconnecting the usual conduit taps
from their respective press chambers when the cloths are required to be removed
for washing, and without necessitating the removal of the nozzles from their respec-
tive cloths, I connect the conduit taps and their respective nozzles by means of
branches, which can be easily unscrewed, allowing of the desired removal without
the usual troublesome disconnections of the cloths.
A filter press consists generally of, say, 24 filtering chambers; and in order to
empty them of the filtered and compressed clay each chamber is at present lifted
separately by direct hand power, and as they are emptied they are again piled one
upon another for refilling. As the chambers and the contained clay are very heavy
this is very laborious work, and to avoid the need of such I place a pulley over
the position of, say, each .8 chambers, and I noose a rope round each such series
and pass it round the nearest revolving shaft; a slight pull at its other end will
then cause the series of chambers to be turned over all together with the open
sides upwards, and I continue this until all the chambers constituting a press are
turned up in sections of 8 (or more or less as desired); the workmen then take the
clay out of the chambers, one by one, and as they will then be very much lighter
they replace them by hand singly in their respective positions for refilling.
I also propose to use pulley blocks, jacks, levers, or other such appliances to lift
the sections or series of chambers where there is no revolving shaft at hand.
For compressing the prepared clay into encaustic or plain tiles or other pottery
articles, according to one method I employ an hydraulic press, consisting of the
usual pump, cistern, cylinder, and ram. I also provide a horizontal table carried
by a shaft, on which is a bevil wheel actuated intermittently by a wheel provided
with teeth only on part of its periphery, and carried by a bottom line shaft, which
receives motion by suitable gearing from the same top line shaft from which the
pump is driven. The table carries (say) four moulds at equidistant points, and is
intermittently rotated by the said means one-quarter of a revolution at a time.
Above the table is a hopper, which contains the clay to be compressed, and
which guides a supply of clay into one mould while the clay in another mould is
being compressed by the press, which is effected as follows:-Each mould is pro-
vided with a false bottom, upon which the clay is fed from the hopper, and when
the mould supplied with clay comes over the press the ram is actuated and ascends,
and presses the said false bottom upwards, and compresses the clay between it and
the top mould, which is carried by an overhanging bracket or standard, and thus
the tile or article is formed; the ram then returns or falls, and the table is partly
rotated till another mould is under the hopper, and another one under the top
mould, when the action is repeated. As each mould leaves the press its false
bottom, by means of a roller or wheel it carries, runs up an incline carried under
the table, and which causes the formed tile to be lifted clear of the sides of the
bottom mould, so that it can be removed without spoiling.
The tap, which turns the pressure on or off the ram, is actuated at the proper
times by a cam excentric on the bottom line shaft.
For each quality of kind of clay I use in making the tiles, I use a separate
hopper, and each hopper may be made with a self-acting spring closing bottom, the
same being opened by the moulds in approaching to be filled,

page_text: I can also use a duplicate ram sufficiently weighted to keep up a continuous
pressure in the manner herein-above referred to.
If an inlay tile is required the inlay can be put in by means of pattern plates
herein-after referred to, previously to the clay being added from the hoppers to
form the back of the tile.
The compressing of the prepared clay may also be effected by means of a screw
press of the following improved construction, as regards its self-acting, driving,
feeding, and delivery motions:-I mount two driving pulleys, which are worked
by a strap or cord in opposite directions in a swinging frame carried by a shaft,
and their spindles I provide with long friction pulleys, which alternately work
against the periphery of the usual large fly wheel of the press in the up-and-down
strokes thereof, being caused to do so by the rising and falling motion of the fly
wheel itself in this manner. The side edges of the fly wheel in rising and falling
come against one or another of two small rollers carried by a vertical rod held in
suitable bearings, and which is connected at its bottom to a counterpoised hand
lever, an arm of which is connected by a link to a crank on the said shaft of the
swinging or turning frame, and thus the rising of the fly wheel, which is caused
by one of the said friction pulleys, acts on one of these rollers, and by means of
the arrangement of levers causes the turning of the said frame, which brings the
other friction pulley to act on the fly wheel and reverse its motion, and the falling
thereof in similarly affecting the frame causes its own motion to be again
reversed.
The feeding of the clay to the moulds is effected by the rising of the top mould,
which actuates a centred lever connected by a rod to a bell-crank lever, the long
arm of which is thus caused by acting against a catch on a rod kept in line by a
weighted chain to thrust a measuring box (similar to what has previously been
used) from under the hopper containing the clay to over the mould, into which
the clay then drops, by which time the said long art slips the catch and the
weight brings the box back under the hopper for a fresh measure or supply of clay.
The box is open at the top and bottom, and when under the hopper it rests on a
bottom plate, and when passing to over the mould it carries with it a top plate,
which prevents any clay falling from out of the hopper. The descent of the top
mould reverses the said centred lever, which slips past the catch and takes its
position opposite and on the other side thereof, ready, upon the ascent of the top
mould, to repeat the above motion.
The feeding motion of the box pushes the formed tile off the bottom mould, the
same having previously been raised to a level with the top of the latter by a false
bottom, with which the latter is provided, and which is actuated also by the rising
of the top mould by means of a hanging weighted lever passing through an aperture
in the table, allowing of a little freedom of lateral motion, and formed with a
rounded notch, which catches a pin carried by a rod depending from the said false
bottom, and carries it up, until the tile is level with the top of the bottom mould,
when it is pushed off by the said filling box, as above described, immediately after
which the notch slips the pin and the false bottom falls, and the clay is again fed
thereonto. It is usual in hand and power driven presses to strike two blows on
the tile, but I make the centre slide which carries the top mould much heavier
than usual, and give the first pressure by means of the gravity thereof, giving the
same a certain liberty of action in the screw end or garter, which allows a little
time to elapse (to let the air escape from the mould) before the final pressure comes
on the clay by the descent of the screw. The tiles are thus better consolidated,
and not liable to split through having air forced into them.
The plates I use for placing the various inlay color clays I form by tieing
together the different sections of pattern plates (which have heretofore been used
singly) by means of a cross bar cut out in the under side, so as not to interfere
with the pattern of the clay or encaustic tile being formed. The stampers in the
top plate, by which the colored clays are consolidated, are suitably formed to corre-

page_text: spond with the placing of the sections and cross bars. By these means I obviate
the necessity for the many separate pattern plates which have heretofore been used,
and require a less number.
In tiles ornamented with very thin colors I use thin pattern plates made of zinc
or other suitable material (somewhat similar to stencil plates), and I lay the color
either with pulverized or liquid clay, slightly consolidating it by means of a flat
india-rubber or other suitable stamper, and filling in the backing afterwards. In
this way very fine devices can be made.
In forming tiles in relief if many colors are required I put (say) a centre color
imitative (say) of a crucifer or rose by means of one pattern plate or strip, and
another color of clay (say) for surrounding leaves or branches by means of another
pattern plate or strip; or I can place the surrounding clay round about or by
means of a central solid plate, and after removing this plate fill the space it occupied
with another color of clay, and I form the backing or border of any other colored
clays, which when pressed consolidates the whole.
If there is any difficulty in drawing the tile out with the relief or ornamental
work outwards I use a false bottom, which can slide off the bottom mould, and can
be turned over on a swivel, pivot, or other similar arrangement to deliver the tile
with the raised ornament upwards, and the back of it downwards.
The tiles or other articles as thus formed require to be fired in kilns or ovens,
and to do this they are usually placed in ".
'saggars," and in order to form the
saggars of an elliptical or other kindred or suitable shape with greater facility than
they have hitherto been formed by hand I employ a rotating mould and an inner
profile or shaping tool. The mould is carried on a shaft driven by proportionate
gearing, motion being transmitted by a shaft driven by pulleys or other gearing,
and on which is a cam corresponding to the desired shape of the saggar, and which,
by means of an arm and slide, actuates the arm carrying the profile in such a
manner as to cause it to shape the saggar internally as desired. The parts of this
shaping apparatus are carried by a suitable framing or brackets.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Boulton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd August
1878.
WILLIAM BOULTON, of Burslem, in the County of Stafford, Engineer. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS AND MEANS FOR OR CONNECTED WITH THE
MANUFACTURE OF TILES AND OTHER ARTICLES OF POTTERY."
This Invention, which relates to certain new and useful improvements in
machinery or apparatus and means for or connected with the manufacture of tiles
and other articles of pottery, is illustrated on the accompanying Sheets of Drawings
in Figures 1 to 25, which will herein-after be severally referred to.
The Invention has reference more particularly to apparatus for preparing clay
for making encaustic and plain tiles and articles in pottery, to apparatus for com-
pressing the prepared clay into such articles, to inlay or pattern plates for floor or
other tiles and tiles made in relief, and to apparatus for forming the 'saggrs' or
receptacles used for firing the tiles or pottery ware.
"
"
In order that the fluid clay should be properly prepared for manipulation in the
manufacture of tiles and other articles of pottery it is usual to pass it through filter
presses, whereby the excess of moisture is removed and the filtered clay is some-
what consolidated.
The ordinary press pumps by which the liquid clay is forced into the filter press
has an escape valve, which allows the surplus fluid or material which the filtration
will not take to overflow at each stroke of the pump.
Now in order to secure a more uniform pressure of the pump and obviate
excessive overflow I combine with the pump, in the manner illustrated in Figure 1
of the accompanying Sheets of Drawings, an additional weighted ram 1, which is
forced up by the surplus material as the pump is performing its down or forcing
stroke, and which in turn forces the said surplus material down into the press on
the return stroke of the pump ram. Or I can use a pair of eccentrically mounted
toothed wheels 2, as shown in Figure 2, and which would cause the up stroke of the
pump to be quicker than the down stroke; or a pair of elliptical toothed wheels 3,
as shown in Figure 3, and which would cause the up-and-down strokes to be slow
and the motion over each centre to be quicker.
The filtering chambers of the filter press contain cloth or canvas linings, for
filtering purposes, and they have previously been made with deep straight edged
grooves, which are detrimental to the wear of the filtering cloths; they have also
been made with curved grooves at distances apart, and sometimes with plain
surfaces.
Now in order to render the cloths more durable, and to a degree strengthen the
chambers, I corrugate the sides thereof continuously with very shallow grooves 4,
in the manner shown most clearly in the plan view, Figure 4.
And in order to obviate the necessity of disconnecting the usual conduit pipes 5
from their respective press chambers 6 when the cloths are required to be removed
for washing, and without necessitating the removal of the nozzles 7 from their
respective cloths, I connect the conduit taps and their respective nozzles by means
of branches 8, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, and which can be easily unscrewed,
allowing of the desired removal without the usual troublesome disconnections of
the cloths.
In some cases, where such an arrangement would be preferable, I dispense with
the conduit taps by boring a hole 9, as shown in Figure 7, through each chamber
or plank 6, the holes being arranged in a continuous line, and so arranging the
cloths that they will of themselves form a conduit. The hole is formed or provided
with projecting washers, so as to admit of a ring of india-rubber, leather, or other
suitable material fastened to the cloth being sunk in the grooves 10.
A filter press consists generally of (say) twenty-four filtering chambers, and in
order to empty them of the filtered and compressed clay each chamber is at present.

page_text: lifted separately by hand, and as they are emptied they are again piled one upon
another for refilling. As the chambers and the contained clay are very heavy this
is very laborious work, and to avoid the need of such I place a pulley 11 over the
position of (say) each eight chambers; and I noose a rope 12 round each such series,
in the manner illustrated in Figures 6 and 8, and pass it round the nearest
revolving shaft 13; a slight pull at its other end will then cause the series of
chambers to be turned over all together with the open sides upwards, and I con-
tinue this until all the chambers constituting a press are turned up in sections of
eight (or more or less, as required); the workmen then take the clay out of the
chambers, one by one, and as they will then be very much lighter they replace them
by hand singly in their respective positions for refilling.
I also propose to use pulley blocks, jacks, levers, or other such appliances to lift
the sections or series of chambers where there is no revolving shaft at hand.
For compressing the prepared clay into encaustic or plain tiles, or other pottery
articles, according to one method, illustrated in Figures 9 to 11, I employ a
bydraulic press consisting of the usual pump 14, cistern 15, cylinder 16, and ram 17.
I also provide a horizontal table 18 carried by a shaft 19, on which is a bevil
wheel 20 actuated intermittently by a wheel 21, provided with teeth only on part
of its periphery, and carried by a bottom line shaft 22, which receives motion by
suitable gearing 23 from the same top line shaft 24, from which the pump is driven.
The table 18 carries (say) four moulds 25 at equidistant points, and is inter-
mittently rotated by the above-described means one quarter of a revolution at a
time.
Above the table is a hopper 26, which contains the clay to be compressed, and
which guides a supply of clay into one mould while the clay in another mould is being
. compressed by the ram, which is effected as follows:-Each mould is provided with
a false bottom 27, upon which the clay is fed from the hopper, and when the mould
supplied with clay comes over the press, as shown most clearly in Figure 9, the
ram is actuated and ascends and presses the said false bottom upwards, and com-
presses the clay between it and the top mould 28, which is carried by an over-
hanging bracket or standard 29, and thus the tile or article is formed.
The ram
then returns or falls, and the table is partly rotated till another mould 25 is under
the hopper and another one under the top mould, when the action is repeated. As
each mould leaves the press its false bottom is caused to rise within it by means of
a roller or wheel 30 it carries, which runs up an incline 31 carried by the framing
32 under the table 18, and the formed tile is thus lifted clear of the sides of the
mould 25, so that it can be removed without spoiling.
The tap 33, which turns the pressure on or off the ram 17, is actuated at the
proper times by a cam or excentric 34 on the shaft 22.
For each quality or kind of clay I use in making the tiles I use a separate
hopper 26, and each hopper may be made with a self-acting spring closing bottom,
the same being opened by the moulds 25 in approaching to be filled or actuated in
opening and closing by the following arrangement of mechanism, shown in the detached
view, Figure 25:-The slide or bottom (58) of the hopper, which keeps the clay
from falling until the moulds are under the hopper, is attached to a lever 83
centred on a pin 84 carried by the framing 32, and as the table 18 moves round, it
is actuated by pins 85, 86, carried by the lower and upper surfaces respectively of
the table, and the first of which as the mould comes round catches the lower end
of the lever 83 and opens the slide 58, so as to give the mould then under the
hopper sufficient clay, and the other of which as the mould passes on catches the
upper end of the lever 83 and again closes the slide, and these motions are repeated
at the passage of each mould under the hopper.
I can also use a duplicate ram sufficiently weighted to keep up a continuous
pressure in the manner herein-above described.
If an inlay tile is required the inlay can be put in by means of pattern plates,
as herein-after described, previously to the clay being added from the hoppers to
form the back of the tile.

page_text: The compressing of the prepared clay may also be effected by means of a screw
press, illustrated in Figures 12 to 14, and of the following improved construction as
regards its self-acting, driving, feeding, and delivery motions:-I mount two
driving pulleys 35 which are worked by a strap or cord in opposite directions in a
swinging frame 36 carried by a shaft 37, and their spindles 38 I provide with long
friction pulleys 39 which alternately work against the periphery of the usual large
fly wheel 40 of the press in the up-and-down strokes thereof being caused to do so
The side
by the rising-and-falling motion of the fly wheel itself in this manner.
edges of the fly wheel in rising and falling come against one or other of two small
rollers 41 carried by a vertical rod 42 held in suitable bearings 43, and which is
connected at its bottom to a counterpoised hand lever 44, an arm 45 of which is
connected by a link 46 to a crank 47 on the shaft 37 of the frame 36, and thus the
rising of the fly wheel which is caused by one of the friction pulleys 39 acts on one
of the rollers 41, and by means of the arrangement of levers. 44, 45, 46, 47, causes
the turning of the frame 36 which brings the other friction pulley 39 to act on the
fly wheel and reverse its motion; and the falling thereof in similarly affecting the
frame causes its own motion to be again reversed.
The feeding of the clay to the moulds 25 is effected, as shown in Figure 15, by
the rising of the top mould 28 which actuates a central lever 48 connected by a rod
49 to a bell-crank lever 50, the long arm 51 of which is thus caused by acting
against a catch 52 on a rod 53 kept in line by a weighted chain 54 to thrust a
measuring box 55 (similar to what has previously been used) from under the hopper
26 containing the clay to over the mould 25 into which the clay then drops, by
which time the arm 51 slips the catch 52, and the weight 56 brings the box 55
back under the hopper for a fresh measure or supply of clay. The box is open at
the top and bottom, and when under the hopper it rests on a bottom plate 57, and
when passing to over the mould it carries with it a top plate 58 which prevents
The descent of the mould 28 reverses the
any clay falling from out of the hopper.
said lever 50 which slips past the catch 52, and takes its position opposite and on
the other side thereof, ready upon the ascent of the mould 28 to repeat the above
motion.
The feeding motion of the box 55 pushes the formed tile off the mould 25, the
same having previously been raised to a level with the top of the latter by a false
bottom 27, with which the latter is provided, and which is actuated, as illustrated
in Figure 16, also by the rising of the mould 28 by means of a hanging weighted
lever 59 passing through an aperture 60 in the table 18, allowing of a little freedom
of lateral motion, and formed with a rounded notch 61 which catches a pin 62
carried by a weighted rod 63 depending from a false bottom 27, and carries it up
until the tile is level with the top of the mould 25, when it is pushed off by the box
55 as above described, immediately after which the notch 61 slips the pin 62 and
It is usual in hand
the false bottom 27 falls, and the clay is again fed thereonto.
and power driven presses to strike two blows on the tile, but I make the centre
slide 64 which carries the top mould 28 much heavier than usual, as illustrated in
Figure 17, and give the first pressure by means of the gravity thereof, giving the
same a certain liberty of action in the screw end or garter 65 which allows a little
time to elapse (to let the air escape from the mould 25) before the final pressure
comes on the clay by the descent of the screw. The tiles are thus better consoli-
dated and not liable to split through having air forced into them.
The plates I use for placing the various inlay color clays I form as illustrated in
Figures 18 and 19, by tieing together the different sections 66 of pattern plates
(which have heretofore been used singly) by means of a cross bar 67 cut out in the
under side so as not to interfere with the pattern of the clay or encaustic tile being
formed. The stampers 68 of the top plate 69 by which the colored clays are con-
solidated, are suitably formed to correspond with the placing of the sections 66 and
cross bars 67. By these means I obviate the necessity for the many separate
pattern plates which have heretofore been used, and require a less number.
In tiles ornamented with very thin colors I use thin pattern plates made of zinc

page_text: or other suitable material (somewhat similar to stencil plates), and I lay the color
either with pulverized or liquid clay, slightly consolidating it by means of a flat
india-rubber or other suitable stamper, and filling in the backing afterwards; in this
way very fine devices can be made.
In forming tiles in relief, if many colors are required, I put (say) a centre color
imitative (say) of a crucifer or rose, as shown in Figures 20 and 21, by means of
one pattern plate or strip 70, Figure 22, and another color of clay (say) for
surrounding leaves or branches by means of another pattern plate or strip 71,
Figure 23; or I can place the surrounding clay round about, or by means of a
central solid plate, and after removing this plate fill the space it occupied with
another color of clay; and I form the backing or border of any other colored clay,
which when pressed consolidates the whole.
To obviate any difficulty in drawing the tile out with the relief or ornamental
work downwards, I use a false bottom which can slide off the bottom mould, and
can be turned over on a swivel, pivot, or other similar device to deliver the tile with
the raised ornament upwards, and the back of it downwards.
The tiles or other articles as thus formed require to be fired in kilns or ovens,
and to do this they are usually placed in " 'saggars," and in order to form the
saggars of an elliptical or other kindred or suitable shape with greater facility than
they have hitherto been formed by hand, I employ a rotating mould 72, and an
inner profile or shaping tool 73, as illustrated in Figure 24. The mould is carried
on a shaft 74 driven by proportionate gearing .75, motion being transmitted by a
shaft 76, driven by pulleys 77 or other gearing, and on which is a cam 78 corre-
sponding to the desired shape of the saggar, and which by means of a lever 79 and
slide 80 actuates the arm 81, carrying the profile in such a manner as to cause it to
shape the saggar internally as desired. The parts of this shaping apparatus are
carried by a suitable framing or brackets 82.
Having now described the nature and objects of my said Invention, together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into practical
effect, I would remark in conclusion that without confining myself to the precise
details I have herein-before described and referred to in carrying out my Invention
in practice, what I claim as my Invention is, the above-described improvements in
the machinery or apparatus and means for or connected with the manufacture of
tiles and other articles of pottery, by the application and use of which the said
manufacture is greatly facilitated, economised, and improved, substantially as
described, and as illustrated in the accompanying Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Boulton, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight
Witness to the signature of
W. Boulton hereto,
THOMAS ARROWSMITH,
61, Navigation Road,
Burslem,
in the County of Stafford,
August 20th, 1878.
WILLIAM BOULTON. (L.S.)