IMPROVEMENTS IN PURIFYING AND CLEANSING CLAY, AND IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES THEREFROM
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Harland, of Shield Street, in the Borough and
County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Timber Merchant, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PURIFYING AND CLEANSING CLAY, AND IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES THEREFROM."
Sealed the 9th April 1858, and dated the 9th October 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
9th October 1857.
Harland at the
Petition, on the
J, JOHN HARLAND, of Shield Street, in the Borough and County of New-
castle-upon-Tyne, Timber Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PURIFYING AND CLEANSING CLAY, AND IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND SIMILAR ARTICLES THEREFROM," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparutus for cleansing or purifying clay, and for making bricks,
drain pipes, or other similar articles, whereby a great saving of power is
effected, and the clay is well purified or freed from stones or grits.
According to the ordinary method at present in use, the clay is contained in
a stationary box, fitted with a travelling ram for forcing it through suitable dies,
or between bars at the end of the box, according to the article to be made; but
according to this Invention the clay is contained in a travelling box running,

page_text: on antifriction rollers, and impelled by means of a rack and pinion or other
suitable mechanical contrivance, for the purpose of forcing the body of clay
against the dies or bars employed for shaping it. These dies or bars are fitted
to the framing of the machine, and are so disposed as to admit of the box
passing along each side of them during its forward motion. The lid of this
box is fitted in grooves, in which it is free to slide. As the box moves forward
the front edge of the lid comes in contact with the bars or dies, and is arrested
whilst the box with the clay continues to travel onwards, and forces the clay
through the moulding dies. It is thus obvious that an immense reduction of
friction is obtained, as the mass of clay is never required to move or rub
against the sides of the box.
The purifying the clay is accomplished by passing it through a grating of
any desired degree of fineness, placed either in the lid of the box or at the
end thereof, so that on starting the machine the clay will be forced through
such gratings, which are made sufficiently fine to exclude small stones, &c.
This purifying process may be carried on simultaneously with the manufacture
of bricks or other articles, the fine clay exuding by the pressure upon it through
the grating in the box lid, whilst the coarser clay is being squeezed through
the bars or dies in the process of being moulded into bricks or other articles.
Or, if found desirable, one box may be kept for purifying and another for
brick making.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Harland in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th April 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HARLAND, of Shield Street, in the Borough and County of Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, Timber Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Harland, Her special license, that I, the said John
Harland, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Harland, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and

page_text: vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PURIFYING
AND CLEANSING CLAY, AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND SIMILAR
ARTICLES THEREFROM;" upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Harland, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Harland, 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 a particular construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for cleansing or purifying clay, and for making bricks,
drain pipes, or other similar articles, whereby a great saving of power is
effected, and the clay is well purified or freed from stones or grits.
According to the ordinary method.at present in use, the clay is contained
in a stationary box, fitted with a travelling ram for forcing it through suitable
dies, or between bars at the end of the box, according to the article to be
made; but according to this Invention the clay is contained in a travelling box
running on antifriction rollers, and impelled by means of a rack and pinion, or
other suitable mechanical contrivance, for the purpose of forcing the body of
clay against the dies or bars employed for shaping or purifying it. These dies
or bars are fitted to the framing of the machine, and are so disposed as to
admit of the box passing along each side of them during its forward motion.
The lid of this box is fitted in grooves, and as the box moves forward the lid
is held stationary by bearing against the bars or dies, whilst the box with the
clay continues to travel onwards, and forces the clay through the moulding
dies or bars. It is thus obvious that an immense reduction of friction is
obtained, as the mass of clay is never required to move or rub against the
sides of the box.
The purifying of the clay is accomplished by forcing it through a grating
of any desired degree of fineness, placed either in the lid of the box or at the
ends thereof, so that on starting the machine the clay will be forced through
such gratings, which are made sufficiently fine to exclude small stones, &c.
This purifying process may be carried on simultaneously with the manu-
facture of bricks or other articles, one box being kept for purifying and another

page_text: for brick making. A contracted aperture-and compressing roller may be used,
in order to render the bricks more solid and compact, and to finish off the
faces and edges of the bricks with greater nicety.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall refer to the
several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the same letters
of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a side elevation of the clay-purifying
and brick-making machine; Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of same;
Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section of the machine, taken along the line
1, 2, in Figure 1; and Figure 4 is an end view of one of the boxes, shewing
the contracted aperture and comprising roller. A is the framing of the
machine; and B, the feeding hopper, which supplies the clay alternately to the
two travelling clay boxes C, C¹. The feeding operation is effected by turning
the feed shaft D in either direction, and as the shaft is fitted with radial blades
(shewn in dotted lines) of the same width as the hopper, it follows that a
certain amount of clay will be delivered from the hopper at each revolution
or partial revolution of the shaft. The two clay boxes are each fitted with
antifriction rollers, which run along the rails E, E, and greatly facilitate the
traverse of the boxes. A rack F is secured at each end to the inner ends of
the clay boxes, and is driven to and fro by the spur pinion G on the shaft H.
This shaft carries a large spur wheel I, which receives a slow motion from the
pinion K on the driving or first motion shaft. The clay boxes are open at
their outer ends and upper sides or tops, but are temporarily closed at the
upper side by stationary lids, L, L', which are hinged at M, M', to the main
uprights of the machine, as is clearly shewn in Figure 1. The free ends of
these lids are connected by a cord to a counterweight N, which serves to hold
them open during the time of filling the clay boxes. One of these lids is
represented as elevated in Figure 1, the other one being down. The clay box
C' is shewn as being about to make its outward traverse in the direction of the
arrow, having been previously filled with clay from the hopper. Before
imparting motion to it its lid L' is shut down over it, so as to close its upper
side, and is then clamped down to prevent its rising by the pressure of the
clay in the box, the clamps, however, being so arranged as to offer no impe-
diment to the free traverse of the box. As the box moves outward it will
gradually leave the lid (the latter remaining stationary), and by the time the
box has arrived at its extreme outward course, the lid will remain in the
position shewn by the other lid C, or entirely removed from the top of the box.
In one or both of these boxes, according as the machine is required for puri

page_text: fying only, or for purifying and brick making simultaneously, is fitted a fine
grating O, through which the clay to be purified is forced by the onward move-
ment of the box. The openings in these gratings should be sufficiently fine to
screen the clay from all stones or grits which would be likely to deteriorate
the bricks or other articles to be afterwards manufactured. These gratings
are bolted securely to a cross bar P, whilst their lower sides are held firm. by
being bolted or otherwise secured to the frames Q, which carry the delivery
rollers. The gratings are thus held stationary, and must be rather smaller
than the interior of the boxes, so as to allow the latter to travel freely on
either side of the gratings. It is thus obvious that as the box which is full of
clay is slowly moved forward, with its lid or corner clamped down, the clay
contained therein will be forced through the fine openings in the grating or
screen, whilst the stones or grits will be prevented from passing through, and
will remain inside the box. The purified clay is carried off as fast as it
exudes through the grating by the endless delivery cloth R, to which a
traversing motion is imparted in any convenient and well-known manner:
The box may be made to purify the clay, and mould it into form suitable for
being cut into bricks, by adapting to the front or face of the grating a con-
tracted mouthpiece or aperture, of the size and shape corresponding to the
articles to be made. This mouthpiece is shewn attached at S; in connection
with the clay box C¹, and in order to improve the appearance of the bricks or
other articles, and increase their compactness and solidity, a compressing
roller T is placed at the upper side of the mouthpiece, for the purpose of
pressing the clay as it proceeds therefrom. A similar roller may also be
placed on the lower edge of the mouthpiece, so that both the top and bottom
sides of the clay may be smoothed and pressed. Rotary motion is imparted
to the roller T by means of the shaft U, and bevil wheels V and W. The
clay is carried along to the cutting apparatus X (which may be of any of the
well-known or improved arrangements), by the endless travelling cloth Y.
The purifying gratings or screens herein-before referred to, and which con-
stitute one of the main features of my present Invention, may be applied in
various ways to the clay boxes, as, for example, they may be fitted into the
lid or into the inner closed end of the box, and may be used or not in com-
bination with ordinary moulding dies, so that one machine may be made to
purify clay and make bricks simultaneously; a separate box being kept for each
operation.
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 would observe in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict

page_text: myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to
describe or refer to, as variations may be made therefrom without deviating
from the principles or main features of my said 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 construction, arrangement, and combination of mechanism
for purifying plastic clay or other pulpy matter, and for the manufacture of
bricks, tiles, and other similar articles, as herein-before described.
Second, the application and use of a travelling box or boxes, for the purpose
of forcing the clay contained in such box or boxes through purifying gratings
or screens, or through moulding dies, for the purposes herein-before described.
Third, the system or mode of purifying or removing stones and grits from
plastic clay by forcing such clay through a fine grating or screen, as herein-
before described.
Fourth, the constructing and arranging of stationary purifying gratings and
moulding dies in such a manner that they shall nearly fill the transverse area
of the travelling boxes which contain the clay, as herein-before described.
Fifth, the combination of stationary gratings or dies with travelling boxes
for containing the clay to be treated; as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Harland, hath hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Seventh day of April, One thousand eight]
bundred and fifty-eight.
JOHN HAKLAND.
(L.S.)