Improvements in the Manufacture of Bricks, and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 28th June, 1898-Accepted, 17th Sept., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Bricks, and in Apparatus
therefor.
A communication by FREDERICK CLIFFORD NORRIS, of Griswald House, Detroit,
in the County of Wayne, and State of Michigan, United States of America.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester,
both in the County of Lancaster, 118, New Street, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, and 322, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner 'the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement;-
In the manufacture of sand brick,-that is to say, brick made of sand and a
suitable binding-agent, which, upon setting, causes the sand to become solid,
the resulting brick, then, withstanding greater crushing strain than ordinary
burned brick, it is essential to the production of brick, true in contour, that
provision should be made for releasing it, after subjection to requisite pressure,
and before discharge, thereby obviating presentation of brick with broken
corners and rough sides, which would inevitably result, if, while still under
lateral pressure, in the mold, the brick were forced upon the discharge-table,―
this for the reason that, as a brick passes from the mold, it expands and thereby
tends not only to break its corners and sides, but also to bulge or warp, and to
set unevenly.
The object is to provide a machine in which sand brick, after subjection to the
requisite pressure, will be relieved from such pressure in the mold, so that, when
forced out, they will retain perfect shape.
Furthermore, to provide a mold having laterally-yielding sides and ends, but
tightly-closed corners.
Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, displaying so much of a brick-making
machine as relates to this invention;
Figure 2 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, showing certain parts
of the mold-operating mechanism hidden from view in Fig. 1;
Figure 3 is a view in plan, partly in section, displaying the mechanism for
opening and closing the mold-sections, the walls of the mold in this figure being
closed:
Figure 4 is a detail view in plan, partly in section, displaying the mold, with
the walls thereof open;
Figure 5 is a view in plan, displaying the upper faces of the mold and also the
table over which the finished brick is moved when discharged from the mold;
Figure 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing a slightly modified form of wall;
Figure 7 is a detail view in plan, partly in section, showing, more particularly,
the mechanism for opening and closing the walls of the mold;

page_text: Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11 are detached detail views in elevation, partly in section,
displaying the different positions assumed by the toggle in operating the plunger
in compressing the brick and forcing the same from the mold.
A designates the frame-work.
The mold B comprises side-walls and end-walls 636, which rest upon the
upper face of a top-plate 132, are preferably approximately triangular, and are
provided, each, at its apex, with a socket, in which works one end of a toggle
piece b, the opposite end engaging a socket be formed in the walls of a movable
boxing or frame 67 inclosing the mold, the boxing being secured to a circular
plate working in a recess formed in the upper face of the table or plate B².
One end of each wall is preferably incut at 68, and overlaps the edge of the ad-
jacent wall, whereby, when the walls are moved laterally, as indicated by the
arrows in Fig. 3, the corners of the mold will be kept perfectly sealed, to preclude
entrance of obstructive matter between the walls of the mold.
The mechanism for imparting outward motion, simultaneously, to the walls,
permitting expansion of the brick in the mold, when pressure is removed, com-
prises two links 69 secured at one end to bosses 10, projecting from the boxing b³,
and at the other end to a plate 611, suitably secured to a shaft 133, having its lower
end stepped in a boxing 12, supported in the frame. The lower portion of this
shaft 133 has secured to it an arm 63 (Figs. 2, 3 and 7), the free end of which
carries a roller 6, working in a grooved cam c mounted on cross-shaft C,
constituting the main drive-shaft for operating the other parts of the apparatus.
The movements of this cam are so timed that, while the brick is being sub-
jected to pressure, the walls of the mold remain closed, but the instant the plunger
has reached its highest point and starts to recede, the cam-groove shifts the
arm 3, and, through links b, turns the boxing 67, and, by the toggle-pieces 65,
shifts each of the walls of the mold laterally the requisite distance.
cam
a
a
this
cam
The plunger D is forced upward by a toggle-joint E, one member whereof is
permanently in engagement with a sliding collar f, on a standard F, and the
other in alternate engagement and disengagement with a similar col-
lar sliding on the standard. The toggle-lever-operating-mechanism
comprises
on the shaft C, the perimeter of
being in engagement with a roller or disk e, carried by a fulcrum e
of the toggle-joint, the upper member of the joint being provided
with an extension ³, to bear upon the lower member and limit the inward
movement of the two parts; a spring e, having one end bolted to the collar f
and the other end in engagement with the extension e³, serving to keep the two
members closed, when requisite. The collar f is operated through the medium
of a link f³, bell-crank lever f, and the cam c³ on the shaft C, the perimeter of
the latter cam being in engagement with a roller or disk f³ on the free end of
bell-crank lever f, the said lever being supported, at its bend, upon a standard
secured to the frame.
The mechanism for closing the mouth of the mold comprises a cross-head G.
carrying an ordinary die g, made removable for any necessary replacement and
adapted to fit accurately within the mold-opening to prevent escape of plastic
material, when pressure is applied. The cross-head is secured to two rods g³,
the lower ends of which are secured to the collar f.
The walls of the mold, the plunger, and die co-act as follows:
The material is fed down a chute H, and is preferably forced to position by
the plunger h, and passes to the mold. Initially, the parts are in the position
shown in Fig. 2, where the finished brick is shown as moved to one side by a
plate on the chute, thus bringing the chute in proper position to permit deposit
of a fresh charge.
At each operation of the machine, the upper member of the toggle-joint is
released from engagement with the socket in collar f, and occupies the position
shown in Fig. 2. The machine being in motion, the cam 3, through the medium
of the bell-crank lever f' and the link f³, will move the collar f down. As this

page_text: motion takes place, the chute is moved to one side, and the die is forced down
into the mold, as shown in Fig. 8. By this time, the collar f will have moved a
sufficient distance downward to allow the free end of the upper member of the
toggle-joint to engage with the socket in the collar fs, and the surface of the cam
now presented to the disk f5 is such as to hold the collar f stationary. Now,
the surface of cam begins to exert pressure against the disk e, operating to
force the toggle-joint to one side and spread the same, and thus force the
plunger D upward and compress the material within the die. As the plunger
reaches the limit of its upward stroke and begins to recede, the grooved cam
shifts the arm 613 and, through the medium of the levers 6P, partially rotates
the boxing or frame b', and thus forces the walls of the mold free from the brick.
The cam holds the toggle-lever at the point last described, and cam now
comes into play and forces the plunger up to the position shown in Fig. 10, with
its upper surface flush with the top of the table, at the same time raising the
die at a rate of speed proportional to that of the movement of the plunger, so
that there will be no interference between these two parts. By the time the
plunger has reached the position shown in Fig. 10, the chute is moved forward
and its outer face forces the brick to one side and again brings the chute in posi-
tion to feed a fresh charge of material to the mold. As soon as the plunger has
reached the position shown in Fig. 10, and the brick has been removed (Fig. 11),
that portion of the perimeter of the cam is brought opposite roller e, permitting
the toggle-joint to recede laterally to the position shown in Fig. 2, out of
engagement with the socket in the collar, whereupon the plunger, by gravity,
will drop back to its normal position, and the operation of the machine will be
repeated.
The mechanism for operating the chute to cause it to remove a brick, when
compressed, and, at the predetermined moment, to cause the chute to come over
the mold, comprises a rock-lever I connected, through a link i, with the chute H,
the free end of the lever I 'being provided with a roller, which engages a cam-
groove formed in one side of the gear-wheel C on the shaft C, this gear-wheel
constituting the main drive-wheel." The cam-groove is so disposed with relation
to the surface of the other cams that the chute will only operate at the pre-
determined moment.
Thus, while the plunger is ascending, the walls of the mold are kept closed,
and, when upward pressure of 'the plunger ceases to be applied, the walls open a
sufficient distance to allow the brick to expand to its limit, whereby, in the
subsequent removal of the brick, there will be no contact between the four sides
of the mold and the brick, and release of the sides of the mold from the brick
and the time at which it occurs is such that there will be no danger of the mold
taking away, as by adhesion, any part of the brick, as the opening of the walls
is not suddenly outward on all four sides, but is in the nature of a sliding
movement, whereby contact between the walls of the mold and the brick is
somewhat gradual, though, in effect, very rapid.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
nvention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what
nanner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. The method of making brick, which consists in supplying a mold with
lastic material, subjecting this to requisite pressure, and removing lateral pres-
ure previous to discharge, to permit expansion within the mold, whereby roughen-
ng or breaking of the sides and corners of the brick will be obviated, substantially
s described.
2. In a brick-making machine, a mold having expanding walls, the 'corners
f which are closed. when the walls are opened, substantially as described.
3. In a brick-making machine, the combination with a reciprocating die and
plunger, of a mold having expanding walls, the corners of which are closed
hen the walls are opened, substantially as described.

page_text: 4. In a brick-making machine, the combination with an expanding mold,
of a reciprocatory die and plunger, the movements of the die and plunger being
so timed that the mold will expand the instant the plunger ceases to impart
pressure, substantially as described.
5. In a brick-making machine, the combination with an expanding mold,
of a die and a plunger, a toggle-joint for operating the plunger to cause it to
move upward and thus raise the plunger, a lever connected by interposed mechan-
ism with the die, and a cam for operating said mechanism to raise and lower
the die, substantially as described.
6. In a brick-making machine, the combination with a die and a plunger, of
a mold having movable sides, a frame or boxing inclosing the walls of the mold,
fulcrums interposed between the walls and the inner sides of the boxing, levers
connecting with the boxing, a shaft carrying a plate to which the levers are
secured, and a cam adapted, at predetermined times, to rotate the shaft and,
through the levers, to turn the boxing, thereby to open and close the members
of the mold, substantially as described.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.