CERTAIN IM- PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TEMPERING CLAY AND PRESSING ORTING ITINTO
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Frederick Stansbury, of Pall Mall,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TEMPERING CLAY AND PRESSING OR
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Charles Frederick
Stansbury at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition and Declaration, on the 3rd August 1853, pursuant
to the 9th section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
I, CHARLES FREDERICK STANSBURY, of Pall Mall, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR TEMPERING CLAY AND PRESS-
ING OR CONVERTING IT INTO BRICKS" to be as follows, that is to say:
My improvements, which have reference to the construction and
employment of an improved brick press, have for their object the
obtainment of greater simplicity and durability in all parts of the said
brick press, and more especially in those which actuate or move the
mould charger, together with greater certainty and precision in the
action of the machinery. But in order that my said improvements.

page_text: may be more fully understood, and readily carried into effect, I proceed
to describe the accompanying Drawings, reference being had to the
figures and letters thereon marked, that is to say:-Fig. 1, represents a
top or plan view of my improved brick press; Fig. 2, a front eleva-
tion, Fig. 3, a side elevation, and Fig. 4, a vertical section thereof,
taken upon the line a, a, of Fig. 1, and y, y, of Fig. 2, so as to
represent the machinery for running the mould carriage. In each
Figure the, same letters of reference, denote similar corresponding
parts A, the pug mill reservoir into which the clay is received and
tempered; B, the vertical shaft thereof, which passes up through the
centre of the reservoir, and is caused to revolve by mechanical or
animal power applied to a brake or lever C, extended horizontally
from its upper end. The arms a, a, extend from the shaft B, and work
in connection with the cross bars. b, b, extended across the interior of
the reservoir.
The mould charger D, opens out of the lower part of the reservoir,
and is connected with one side of it, the clay being thrown into it by
the revolution of the arms a, a, and by its own gravity. E, is the
mould carriage, which operates in connection with the mould charger,
and carries a movable platform or plate E¹, which is so applied to it
by adjusting screws or slots, as seen at c, c, as to enable it to be elevated
or depressed with respect to the surface d, on which the mould rests on
the carriage. The said carriage has supporting slides E, E, which
rest and slide respectively on ways F, F, which are so fastened to the
frame work G, of the machine by adjusting screws or contrivances, as
seen at f, f, as to be capable of being elevated or depressed in order
to bring the surface d, of the mould carriage nearer to or further from
the level of the lower part of the mould carriage. The object of the
above arrangement is to adapt the platform E', and the surface d, to
the mould charger and a mould of any required thickness. Within
the mould charger is a piston H, which is moved up and down in order
to force the clay out of the bottom orifice, and into the brick mould
when it is placed directly under the charger. The lower part of the
charger has a portion I, of its front made moveable and supported on
vibrating arms K, K, which are suspended at their upper ends on pins,

page_text: so as to be capable of being moved outwards. Should any stone or piece
of brick extend above the mould after the clay has been pressed into it,
it will be carried against the part or mould protector I, (when the
mould moves from under the charger,) and the mould protector will
yield or move outwards with it, and thus prevent its injuring the mould
or charger. The mould protector forms part of the floor of the
charger, and is made wider than it is deep, in order to prevent the
pressure on the clay from forcing it outwards, so as to allow the clay to
be improperly ejected from the charger.
The piston is attached to the rod L, which is jointed to the front
end of the lever M, arranged as seen in the Drawings. This lever
passes through a slotted bearing N, and has a moveable fulcrum 9,
which is attached to a connecting fork h, worked by a lever i, which
turns on a fulcrum k. The fulcrum g, slides in a slot 7', made through
the bearing N, and a corresponding one made through the lever, by
means whereof the situation of the fulcrum of the lever can be
changed, so as to regulate the extent of the depression of the piston,
for the purpose of causing it to act with more or less pressure on the
clay in the mould as circumstances may require; the lever M, is worked
up and down or moved upon its fulcrum in order to move the piston
and to hold it stationary at the proper periods of time by means of the
two cams m, and n, fixed on the horizontal shaft o. These cams act
respectively against rollers or wheels o, p, fixed in a frame 9, attached
to the lower end of the connecting rod P, which is jointed to the
lever M. A side view of the frame g, and the cams and rollers, is
given in Figure 5, the frame g, being made to slide on the shaft. The
said shaft O, is connected at its other end with a vertical shaft R, by
two bevel gears 7, and s. On the upper part of the shaft R, there is a
spur gear t, that turns loosely on the shaft, and works into a larger
gear u, fixed on the shaft of the pug mill. To the gear t, the shaft R,
and the lever S, a suitable clutch T, is adapted so as to enable a person
by pulling downwards the front arm of the lever to clutch the gear to
the shaft. The said lever is connected with a weighted hand lever U,
by means of a connecting rod V, jointed to both respectively, the whole
being arranged as seen in the Drawings. The hand lever is placed in

page_text: a convenient position for the off bearer or bearers of the machine to
lay hold of it, and work it as occasion may require. The mould car-
riage is not only to be moved backward and forward, so as to carry a
mould laid on its surface d, underneath and out from the charger, but
it is to be suffered to remain at rest long enough not only to permit
the clay to be forced into the mould, but subsequently long enough to
permit the mould to be removed from the carriage, emptied, and re-
placed thereon. Besides this, it is to be stopped in its movements just
in the proper position, when entirely under the mould or entirely out
from underneath it. The machinery which effects this purpose consists
of a pitman a', affixed to the carriage, and a fork, which straddles,
rests, and moves on the shaft O. From this fork two arms b¹, c',
extend, as seen in the Drawings, each arm being provided with a stud
or projection d¹, or c¹, extending from its side and at its outer end.
There is an arm f', fixed on the shaft O, and having a stud g', that
projects from its side, and alternately (when the shaft O, is revolved)
strikes against the two shafts d', e¹, so as to first move the mould
carriage in one direction and then to move it back again. After it has
come against and passed each stud a short time elapses before it is
carried into contact with the other stud, this arrangement being
intended to enable the carriage to remain at rest during such time.
The movement of the carriage being arrested by the bringing up
against the shaft O, of one of the two pins i, 4, which extend down the
fork, as seen in the Drawings. The mould as seen at X, and is repre-
sented in red lines.
Having now described my said Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be carried into effect, I would have it clearly understood
that I do not claim the mode of operating the mould carriage by
means of a crank operating upon bars running across or attached to
the mould carriage, nor the mode of operating the pressing piston by
means of a lever actuated by revolving cams and connecting rod, nor
do I claim the arrangement thereof with the cam shaft made to pass
beneath the pug mill, and there operate the mould carriage by means
of a reversing gear applied to the said shaft, as the like arrangement
and the like modes of operating have been heretofore known and

page_text: employed; but that which I do claim as new and of my said Invention
is, firstly, the modification of the said arrangement by substituting
for the shaft with reversing gear the shaft with continuous motion,
operating the carriage and producing the intervals of rest by means of
the crank pin acting alternately upon the studs d', and e¹, connected
with the mould carriage, whereby I obtain greater certainty and pre-
cision of action in the machine, with greater simplicity and durability.
Secondly, in combination with the piston and the lever M, I claim the
slot in the lever, the slotted bearings, the moveable fulcrum pin, the
connecting fork, and the hand lever, the same being for the purpose of
increasing or diminishing the amount of pressure of the piston on the
clay in the mould, as has been described and set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Frederick Stansbury,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Second day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-three.
CHARLES FREDERICK STANSBURY. (L.S.)