IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER PLASTIC SUBSTANCES, AND IN THE IN THEACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Curry, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Accountant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER PLASTIC SUBSTANCES, AND IN THE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Curry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
16th May 1866.
I, WILLIAM CURRY, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Accountant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER PLASTIC SUBSTANCES,
AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be as follows,
that is to say:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the manufacture of
bricks, tiles, and other plastic substances, and consists, firstly, of a plate or
table supported on legs which are set in a pedestal or platform, the platform
having apertures underneath it for the introduction of a plank or planks of
wood on which persons operating a lever may stand, the machine having
wheels by which it is made portable when desired. The plate or table has
its ends turned up, or it may have two pieces secured to each end, these pieces
being of the size superficially of one side of the brick or other article to be
formed. The table or plate has also a slot cut in its center about three-fourths

page_text: of an inch in width, and about seven inches in length. Secondly, two pieces
similar in size and thickness to the two pieces at the ends of the plate or table
may be connected with each other by one or more rods, and capable of being
moved backwards and forwards on the plate or table inside a sliding box, which
is constructed to form two ends and one side of the square on which the
brick or other article is to be moulded or pressed, the other three sides being
formed by the end of the table, the table itself, and the second sliding piece
respectively. The short ends of this slide are constructed to overlap the table
or plate on each side, so as to admit of a rod or bar crossing from one side to
the other underneath the table, this rod or bar being secured to the sides of
the slide to keep it in position and to prevent its rising when set in motion.
Thirdly, a quadrant or segment of a wheel is arranged to move on a pivot or
centre in two pieces secured to the bottom of the table on each side of the
groove or slot before referred to, and in this groove or slot the quadrant or
segment of the wheel is made to move. To the rim of this quadrant are
attached two steel bands, or chains, or cords, one end of each being secured
thereto, and the other end of each being fastened to bars passing from one
side to the other of the slide and on the inside thereof, so that when the
quadrant or wheel is turned this slide is caused to move backwards and
forwards from either end of the table. Four "cleats are secured by screws to
the inside of the slide, which are made to support the slide on the table, and
also to carry with the slide, as it moves backwards and forwards, the two pieces
connected by rods as before-mentioned; the effect of this is that by depressing
a duplex lever which is attached by an arm below the table to the quadrant,
and which lever can be lengthened or shortened at pleasure, the slide carrying
along with it the two pieces is moved towards either end of the table according
to which side the lever may be depressed; this motion causes one end of the
table to be covered and the other end to be left free. By placing upon the
free end the brick or piece of clay or any other plastic material to be moulded
or pressed, and which has previously been separated or cut to its proper size
as it comes from the pug or other mill employed for the purpose, a signal is
given and the elevated end of the lever is in its turn depressed, the slide
carrying with it the pieces before-mentioned is moved to the opposite end
of the table, and the clay or other plastic material is instantly formed into
the desired shape, and the box at the other end of the table is at the same
time opened to receive the substances in like manner to be operated upon
the elevated end of the lever is now depressed, and the same operations are
carried out and repeated alternately at each end of the table as often as is
Lacived

page_text: As constituting the first part of this Invention it is intended to claim the
forming and pressing of clay and all other plastic material into any form
or shape by means of the table and sliding boxes such boxes may be made
square, or oblong, or of a shape suitable for forming tiles or bricks and any
plastic material upon which it is desired to impress any letters, figures, or
device, and this is done by using slides bearing or having engraved or moulded
upon them those letters, figures, or devices, and by using any desired form
of slide or box for the purpose.
Another modification of this Invention consists in substituting for the slides
herein-before mentioned a set of perforated slides connected together and
moved in the same manner, and having as many perforations as desired, and
by using behind this set of slides a third set having holes or apertures in
them to admit of the free passage of the rods by which the second set are
connected, and to this third set are attached hollow tubes which are constructed
to project from the third set, and fit into and work in the holes or perforations
of the second set. An accelerated motion is given to this third set of slides
by means of a second quadrant of greater circumference than the one herein-
before mentioned, but placed beside it, and having its pivot or centre below
that of the first quadrant. This second quadrant is secured to the tubular
slides by bands similar to those already described, and by the accelerated
motion thereby given to these slides when the lever is depressed the hollow
tubes are made to perforate the brick or tile, and before the slide by which
the same is pressed has time to perform its office, the tubes being hollow, an
escape is provided for the clay cut out in the operation, which falls at the side.
of the machine. Instead of giving motion to the slide boxes by means of the
duplex lever, as herein-before described, it may be accomplished in various
other ways, for instance by separate levers attached to joints and breaks to,
the sides of the sliding box, and by a tongue ending in a ball attached to.
the two sliding pieces or to the perforated and tubular pieces and the legs,
of the table, one or more of which legs may be made the fulcrum; or motion,
may be communicated to the sliding boxes and the internal sliding pieces by
an eccentric wheel working in grooves and fitted on the outside of the sliding
box, and driven by horse, steam, or other power,, but preference is given to
the quadrant or wheel. In order to ensure uniformity of size in the article
moulded or pressed, the lever is arranged so as to pass into grooves cut in
two perpendicular pieces, which form, as it were, two additional legs to the
table or plate, these perpendicular pieces having holes bored in them from
top to bottom at equal distances apart in which a peg or pin is inserted
and removed from one to another at pleasure as it may be desirable to

page_text: control the pressure to be applied; by this means the articles pressed or
moulded may be all of equal and uniform size and consistency, the lever
being thereby prevented from exceeding a certain indicated degree of
pressure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said William Curry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th November 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CURRY, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Curry, Her special license that I, the said William Curry, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Curry, 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 vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF BRICKS, TILES, AND OTHER PLASTIC SUBSTANCES, AND IN THE
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Curry, 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Curry, 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 bad to the accompanying Drawings and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to certain improvements in the manufacture of
bricks, tiles, and other plastic substances, and consists, firstly, of a plate or
table supported on legs which are set in a pedestal or platform, the platform

page_text: having apertures underneath it for the introduction of a plank or planks of
wood on which persons operating a lever may stand, the machine having
wheels by which it is made portable when desired. The plate or table has
its ends turned up or it may have two pieces secured to each end, these pieces
being of the size superficially of one side of the brick or other article to be
formed. The table or plate has also a slot cut in its centre about the fourth
of an inch or more in width and about 7 inches in length. Secondly, two
pieces similar in size and thickness to the two pieces at the ends of the plate
or table may be connected with each other by one or more rods, and capable
of being moved backwards or forwards on the plate or table inside a sliding
box which is constructed to form two ends and one side of the square on
which the brick or other article is to be moulded or pressed, the other three
sides being formed by the end of the table, the table itself, and the second
sliding piece respectively. The short ends of this slide are constructed to over-
lap the table or plate on each side so as to admit of a rod or bar crossing
from one side to the other underneath the table, this rod or bar being secured
to the sides of the slide to keep it in position and to prevent its rising when
set in motion. Thirdly, a quadrant or segment of a wheel is arranged to
move on a pivot or centre in two pieces secured to the bottom of the table on
cach side of the groove or slot before referred to, and in this groove or slot
the quadrant or segment of the wheel is made to move. To the rim of this
quadrant are attached two steel bands, or chains, or cords, one end of each
being secured thereto, and the other end of each being fastened to bars passing
from one side to the other of the slide and on the inside thereof, so that when
the quadrant or wheel is turned this slide is caused to move backwards and
forwards from either end of the table.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I shall
now proceed to describe more particularly the system, mode, or manner in or
under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect,
reference being had to the several Figures upon the explanatory Sheet of
Drawings which I have hereunto appended, and in which similar parts are
indicated by corresponding letters of reference, that is to say :-
plan;
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved machine for the manufacture
of bricks; Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same; Figure 3 is a top
and Figure 4, a plan, looking upwards, of the under side of the table.
In all the Figures the main table of the machine is marked A, and it is carried
upon two standards B, which are connected together at their lower ends by
stays C and D for increasing the steadiness of the whole. The table A is
furnished at each end of its upper side by vertical abutment plates E; these

page_text: may be either bolted to the bed of the machine, as shown, or they may be
cast in one piece therewith. At the centre of the table on its under side
brackets F are fixed, through which a hole is formed for the insertion of the
pin or bolt a, upon which the lever G vibrates as the machine is in operation.
The lower part of this lever G is extended in two directions by long arms G
and G³, these are furnished with handles by which the apparatus is operated,
the handles on the ends of the arms G¹, G³, passing to the outside of the
standards B through slots made in them, as more particularly seen at Figures
1, 2, and 3. The upper half of the lever G is furnished with a semicircle c, c,
which passes partly above the table through a slot made to receive it; chains e
and fare fixed at each end of this semicircle and crossing each other, as
shown at Figure 1; they extend and are fastened to the central parts of the
cross bars of the sliding box H, so that when the lever is vibrated the box II
is correspondingly moved from one end of the table A to the other end for
as many times as there are vibrations imparted to the lever. Within the
cavities at each end of the box H the vertical plates I are situated, being held
together by a framework d, d, shown in dotted lines at Figure 1; these plates
are situated opposite and parallel to the end abutment plates E. By means
then of the sliding box H, which forms the top, bottom, and two ends of a
brick, the plate I, and abutment E, a hollow prismatic chamber is obtained
at will at either end of the table A, in which a lump of clay being compressed
the brick form is rapidly imparted to it. On looking at the under side of the
bed A, Figure 4, it will be seen that the sides of the boxes are held together
by the straps a', a¹.
Having now described the several parts of this modification of my improved
machine, I now proceed to set forth the mode of operating with the same to be
as follows, that is to say :-An attendant is stationed at each end or handle of
the lever G, and by depressing the lever G draws the sliding box H towards him,
a piece of clay to be converted into the brick form being placed by another
attendant between the abutment E and the sliding box before the depression
of the lever takes place, as the box is drawn forward its action compresses
the clay into its interior, so that when completely drawn over the clay com-
pletely fills and partakes of the shape of the interior of the prismatic cavity
produced by the sliding box, the abutment E, and the vertical plate I, as
herein-before described. On the opposite end of the lever being depressed
the box H is drawn to the opposite end, leaving the compressed clay in
the brick form ready to be taken away and fired. From what has now
been set forth it will be evident that the clay is compressed into the brick
form. alternately at each end of the table A. To enable the brick to be

page_text: removed the more easily when the box H is drawn off it, the frame carrying
the two plates I, I, is formed of a length slightly less than the distance between
the two brick cavities that are alternately produced at each end of the table;
by means of this as soon as the box H has nearly arrived at the end of one
stroke one of the bars x, shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, comes in contact
with the outer side of one of the plates I, and thus draws it away from the
brick, in this manner the brick is left free for removal. When machines
constructed, according to this Invention are employed for producing tiles and
other similar articles the box H is provided with dies or matrices in which
the same may be formed. In manufacturing perforated bricks according to
this Invention, a second moveable frame is employed situated in the interior
of the frame carrying the plates I; it is as much shorter than the frame
carrying the plates I as will allow it to move within this frame a distance
equal to the thickness of a brick. This inuer frame carries also two vertical
plates one at each end, these plates being provided with tubes by which the
perforations are made; holes are formed in each of the plates I, through which
the tubes on the inner plates pass. To actuate the frame carrying the
perforating tubes a second quadrant or semicircle is employed of a larger
radius than the first, and having its centre lower down than the first quadrant ;
it is attached by chains to the perforating frame in a manner similar to the
frame carrying the plates I are attached to the first quadrant. The second
quadrant has a short lever extending downwards from it, and parallel to the
flat side of the first lever; or a double quadrant may be employed situated on
both sides of the first quadrant. The lower end or ends of the lever or levers
of the larger quadrant or quadrants are formed slightly concave or convex, so
that when either end of the lever G is depressed, a stud or studs in this lever
press against the lowest point of the curve or curves in the end or ends of the
lever or levers, and the lever or levers of the larger quadrant or quadrants
having a different centre from that of the lever G, the lever G carries forward
the short levers of the larger quadrant for a distance only so far as the studs
in the lever G are in contact with any part of the curves in the ends of the
levers. The curve is arranged so that the quadrant may be moved through a
distance sufficient to cause the perforating tubes to completely pass through
the clay as soon as the clay is perforated, the pressure being still continued
on the lever G. The box H is carried forward to form the exterior of the
brick; the box H and the perforating tubes are then withdrawn by a reverse
motion of the lever, when a similar effect takes place at the other end of the
machine. It is to be understood that machinery of the nature I have herein-
before specified may be actuated by steam, hydraulic, or other power in which

page_text: case a long table A may be provided, on which several boxes for forming
bricks, tiles, or other similar articles may be situated so as to produce the
several functions, as herein-before described for hand worked machines.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, I would
observe in conclusion that what I consider novel and original, and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is, the arrangement and combination of parts forming the
machinery or apparatus to be used in the manufacture of bricks, tiles,
and other similar articles, as herein-before described, or any mere modification
thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Curry, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of November, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-six.
WILLIAM CURRY. (L.s.)