IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS
Year: 1865

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Peter Bawden at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th December
1865.
I, PETER BAWDEN, of Clifton Street, Notting Hill, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in machinery for the
manufacture of bricks, and consists in a method of finishing them after the
process of moulding, in order to produce a better surface than has hitherto
been produced.
The Invention is applicable to the brick-making machine patented by Peter
Bawden, James Williams, and Samuel Williams, under date 17 May 1864,
No. 1247, and also to any other brick-making machine so as to be brought
in contact with the improved methods of finishing their surface.
I propose by this Invention to bring the mould tray, previous to its delivery
for receiving the sand and pallets, under the action of a series of horizontal
wedge-shaped iron cutters so arranged that their points shall traverse the centres
of the surfaces of the divisions of the tray mould, and thus plough off or scrape
the surplus clay into or upon the surface of the material of the brick itself. These
cutters are fixed in front of the machine by means of brackets or arms bolted
or screwed to the standards, the cutters having no movement, but being
stationary and merely shearing off the clay by the traverse of the mould tray,

page_text: which then continues its motion and passes under a wooden roller, the length
of which is equal to the width of the tray mould. This roller is set in journals
in a frame prolonged from the bracket or arm carrying the cutters, and the
axle is permitted to move vertically upwards or downwards by means of a slot
in which the journal is placed; above the roller is a hopper and receptacle for
sand, so that the roller is always covered on the upper portion of its periphery
with sand, which consequently becomes conveyed to the surface of the brick
by the passage of the brick under the roller. No motion is conveyed to the
roller, it is simply set in its bearings, and the friction of the tray mould below
it gives it a rotary motion and causes the shearing of the clay from the
surfaces of the divisions of the tray mould to be firmly pressed and embodied
into the brick with sand. On each side of the roller a horizontal vertical
plate is fixed by adjustable screws; one of these plates is for the purpose of
regulating the supply of sand to the mould of bricks, the other is for the
purpose of cleansing the roller from any superfluous clay or sand previously
to the roller receiving clean sand to coat the surface of the bricks. The
-distance or space between the plate, which allows of the supply of the sand to
the roller should be about the sixteenth of an inch, and when, in the course of
time the edge of the plate becomes worn the set screws can be loosened, and
the plate being provided with slots or oval spaces through which the tightening
"screws 'are passed, it follows that the adjustment of the supply of sand can be
regulated to any degree. The other plate which serves to scrape or cleanse
the roller should be set close or in contact with the roller; it is also to be
fixed by means of similar screws and slotted openings, as in the iformer
example.
In the machines already constructed there is not sufficient play or movement
of the mould after the manufacture of the bricks to permit of the movement
of the mould under the cutters and roller as I have described; but I propose
'to accomplish this 'movement by extending the table or plate of the machine,
'and 'bringing it forward so as to 'receive the mould; then I propose to 'apply on
each side of the mould an endless band 'er chain and pullies in connection
with tilting catches or fingers to act upon and bring forward the tray mould to
'the requisite distance in front of the machine, so that the clay may be brought
successively under the action of the cutters and roller; other gear may be
'substituted, such as 'racks 'and 'pinions or toothed gearing equivalent thereto,
the object being that the tilting 'lever shall thrust forward the mould; this
'mould brings the 'first one partly under the 'action of the cutter and 'roller. A
horizontal frame is arranged to work through slotted guide's 'on each side of
the moulds and is connected to the endless band, so that 'a's 'the frame is

page_text: actuated it pulls the mould out by means of a crop or T-piece behind the
mould and connected on each side with the endless chain; the tilting or
balancing bars are connected to the frame by joints or pins, so that as they
are brought forward against the projecting front edge of the mould they push
it forward by reason of their fore ends tilting upwards, their rear ends being
heavier. When the frame retreats the upper surface of the fore ends of the
tilting bars come under the bottom of the rear mould and are forced down-
wards so as to traverse the rear mould, in order to be in readiness to bring it
forward in like manner to the former, and so on in succession.
Now the object of this Invention is not only to produce a more finished
brick (than has hitherto been produced) by the action of the plough cutters
and the pressing sanded roller, but also to effect a considerable saving of time
and labor, requiring only one man in place of two, because there is no plate
to strike off, the brick being already finished by the cutters or rollers. The
sanding, which has hitherto been done by hand, is performed by the roller, and
the labor necessary for the pallets is also thereby reduced, so that not only is
there an economy in expense, but a more finished brick is produced. It saves
the striking or scraping of the brick, and consequently the labor of the man,
and the man who sands, the operation of striking or cutting, and also with
throwing the clay back again into the mill in order to make a more perfect
brick, because the man who sands the mould can turn the mould over on
the barrow.