A NEW COMBINATION OF MATERIALS FOR MAKING BRICKS, TILES, POTTERY; AND OTHER USEFUL ARTICLES, AND A MACHINE OR MACHINERY FOR MAKING THE SAME; AND ALSO A NEW MODE OR PROCESS OF BURNING THE SAME; WHICH MACHINE OR MACHINERY, AND MODE OR PROCESS OF BURNING ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE MAKING AND
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
-GIBBS, of Kennington, in the County of Surry, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-ninth day of April, in the fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Gibbs, my exors, adiñňors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Joseph Gibbs, my
.exors, adiñors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Joseph Gibbs, my
exors, adiñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
that part of Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and. Ireland
called England, Her Dominion of Wales, Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and
in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "A
NEW COMBINATION OF MATERIALS FOR MAKING BRICKS, TILES, POTTERY; AND OTHER
USEFUL ARTICLES, AND A MACHINE OR MACHINERY FOR MAKING THE SAME; AND ALSO
A NEW MODE OR PROCESS OF BURNING THE SAME; WHICH MACHINE OR MACHINERY,
AND MODE OR PROCESS OF BURNING ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE MAKING AND

page_text: BURNING OF OTHER DESCRIPTION OF BRICKS, TILES, AND POTTERY;" in which said
Letters Patent there is contained a proviso that I, the said Joseph Gibbs,
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, under my hand and seal, to
be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in pursuance of the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Gibbs, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described in
and by the following Specification thereof, reference being had to the explana-
tory Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say:
First, as to the combination of materials for making bricks, tiles, pottery,
and other useful articles.-The novelty in my combination of materials is the
employment of Merstham sand or pulverized Merstham sandstone, known as
firestone (and which is found generally in beds between the lower beds of
chalk and above the gault clay, in the neighbourhood of Merstham and
Godstone in Surrey and other places), in combination with London clay,
pipeclay, or other argilaceous clays in various proportions, or with the other
ingredients usually employed in making bricks, tiles, or pottery. The propor-
tion of Merstham sand, or pulverized Merstham sandstone to be used, must
be according to the nature of the quality of brick, tile, pottery, or other
earthenware articles. For bricks: two parts, by measure, of Mersthamı sand
.or pulverized Merstham sandstone and one of clay will be found generally a
good proportion.
Secondly, as to the machine or machinery for making bricks, tiles, pottery,
and other useful articles, either composed of my new combination, or of any
other combination of materials used in making bricks.-A pug mill, as shewn
at Figures 1 & 2 is first employed. The aperture I at the bottom of the mill,
through which the clay or composition passes, is made of the shape of a section of
an ordinary brick or tile, that section being taken either lengthways, sideways,
or crossways, as may be judged best; but this aperture should be made adjust-
able to any size and shape. As the prepared composition is forced out of the
aperture I of the pug mill, pieces are cut off of a size, in some cases, rather
larger than that of the brick or tile it is intended to make, by means of knife,
wire, or thread, of a suitable material, connected with and worked by suitable
apparatus, hereafter described. The cutting knife or wire must be adjusted

page_text: so as to be set to act at longer or shorter intervals, according to the size of the
portions of composition into which the clay is to be divided for the brick, tile,
or other article intended to be made. The pieces are then put through the
machine next to be described, of which Figure 1 is a side elevation, Figure 2:
is an end elevation, and Figure 3 is a plan, the same letters referring to the
same parts in each Figure. A, A, is a bed or framework of any suitable
material; B, B, is a frame fixed thereon; C, C, is an inner frame, provided.
with a knife or wire D, D, and which frame moves freely upon studs or friction
rollers which act in grooves or slots in the frame B, B, by which is it supported;
E, E, is a crank; F, F, is a rod (or rods) attached to the same, having upon
it a tappet G, G, which at every half revolution of the crank E, E, strikes
the frame C, C, and causes it to advance and recede alternately; H, H, is the
pug mill before mentioned; L, L, is a tray upon a frame J, J, which moves upon.
the bed A, A, by the actions of the cam K, K. The composition having been.
put into the pug mill H, H, is actuated by the knives or cutters revolving
therein in the usual manner, and forced down through the aperture L, where,
as a sufficient quantity for cach brick or tile protrudes, it is cut off by the
knife or wire D, D, every time the frame C, C, which carries it advances, and
recedes by the motion of the crank E, E, before described. As each brick or
tile is cut off it is received upon the tray L, L, and with the frame J, J, is
carried forward at each revolution of the cam K, K. Attached to some con-
venient part of the frame or carriage C, C, there is a small compression air-
pump, not shewn in the Drawing, by which air blown through four or more
jets acts upon sand falling before each jet, and is thus dispersed round the
brick or tile as it descends from the aperture I of the pug mill. Figure 4 is
a side elevation. Figure 5 is an end elevation.
Figure 6 is a plan of another modification of a machine for forming bricks or
tiles, the same letters in each Figure referring to the same parts. A, A, is
a bed or foundation, with a railway upon it, similar to A, A, in Figures
7, 8, and 9. C, C, is a frame or carriage mounted upon wheels which
travel upon the said railway B, B, upon the axle of the wheels D, D,
and turning with them is a cylinder or roller E, E, having a true and
polished surface. Attached to the frame or carriage C, C, is a scraper L,
which, acting against the surface of the cylinder or roller E, E, prevents
any of the composition from rising before it upon the axle of the wheels
F, F, and moving with them is another cylinder or roller G, G, provided
with any convenient number of circular knives or cutters H. H, as shewn
in the Figures. Over the cylinder or roller G, G, a box I, I, is carried,
attached to the frame or carriage C, C, the under side of which box has open-

page_text: ings through which, and the sand within, the circular knives or cutters pass
as they revolve, whereby they are kept clean and charged with sand to prevent
adhesion to the composition they have to cut. Another box of sand J, J, is
attached or suspended from the frame or carriage C, C, the under side of
which is formed as a sieve. At one or both ends of this box or sieve a spur
projects, which being caught by a lever attached to the carriage C, C, and a
similar spur upon the wheel or wheels D, D, as they revolve, a vibratory
motion is thereby given to the box or sieve J, J, and the sand contained'
therein is scattered over the composition as it is spread out upon the bed A, A.
This composition, being brought from a pug mill of 'any convenient construc-
tion, may be deposited upon the bed A, A, by hand, by waggons travelling
upon the rails B, B, or by any other means that may be considered most
expedient, motion being given to the frame or carriage C, C, by a rope and
drum, or any other suitable mechanical contrivance. The plain cylinder or
roller E, E, passes over the composition and spreads it evenly upon the bed
A; A, being followed by the cylinder or roller F, F, which cuts the said com-
position into strips of the breadth or thickness required for the brick or tile,
according to the arrangement of the knives or cutters upon the said cylinder
or roller G, G. Two men, one on each side of the bed A, A; follow these
cylinders or rollers, provided with a frame K, K; containing one or more
knives or wires, and by bringing this frame down and drawing the knives or
wires 'across the composition, and through the notches or openings O. O, made
for that purpose in the rails M, M, upon the bed A, A, the material is cut
into the lengths required for the bricks or tiles. The knife may be actuated by
the machine itself; but the means of doing it is so obvious that it need not be
described here. The soft or moist rough-shaped bricks or tiles produced by
either of the processes before described are to be well dried or partially baked,
so that they shall be brought to a firm and compact staté, no longer liable to
shrinking in the further process of baking, or to be deformed by marks or
iinpressions in the handling, or in undergoing any of the subsequent opera-
tions. These dried rough bricks or tiles are then to be passed between various
arrangements of circular saws or cutters, which may be used double, so as to
cut two sides of the brick or tile at the same time (which arrangement being
well. understood need not be further described), and by these they are cut or
trimmed into the correct and final size and shape it is intended the brick or tile
should have. The bricks or tiles thus formed are then to be baked, either
in the kiln herein-after described, or in any other suitable description of kiln.
I have devised various other plans by which the object of my Invention may
be carried into effect; that is to say, the forming a rough brick or tile in the

page_text: first instance, and then cutting it into its destined shape after it has been dried
or more or less hardened; but the preceding description will serve as.. a
sufficient exemplification.
Figure 7 is a side elevation; Figure 8 an end elevation; and Figure 9 a
plan of a machine for compressing the bricks or tiles. A, A, is a bed or foun-
dation, of any length that may be expedient, formed of brick or any other
suitable material. B, B, is a rail or tramway laid upon the bed or. founda-
tion. C, C, is a frame or carriage mounted upon wheels that runs upon the
rails or tramway B, B. Upon the frame or carriage C, C, are standards D, D;
bearing one end (as a fulcrum) of the beam E, E, upon which is suspended a
weight F, F. The other end of the beam 'E, E, is connected with the ram of
a small hydraulic force pump or press G, G. Upon one end of the axle of the
wheels I, I, is a large wheel H, H, having handles upon its outer edge to
enable it to be turned, by which the frame or carriage C, C, is moved back-
wards or forwards upon the railway B, B, as occasion may require:. J, J, is
a platform for a man to stand upon to move tlie frame or carriage C, C, and
work the pump G, G. The bricks or tiles are placed upon the bed A, A,
between the inner rails K, K, shewn in the end elevation and plan, Figures 8
and 9; à few strokes being given to the pump G, G, the ram lifts the end
of the beam E, E, together with the weight F, F. The wheel H, H, being
turned, the frame or carriage C, C, is moved forward, and the weight F, F,
brought over the bricks or tiles placed upon the bed A, A. The water
under the ram is then discharged; the beam E, E, and the weight F, F,
descends and compresses the bricks or tiles evenly and firmly upon the
lied A, A, beneath, by a few strokes of the pump G, G. The beam E, E, and
the weight F, F, is raised again; the frame or carriage moved on as before,
and the compressing process is thus repeated from end to end of the lied A, A,
as often as may be required. If a greater pressure is required than can
be conveniently given by the arrangement of the weight as herein-before
described, a hydraulic pump may be used for that purpose, as shewn in the
Dingrani, Figure 15. By suspending a compressing plate, which is substituted
for the weight F, F, from the end of the beam E, E, and making L 'the ful-
crum of the beam, the action of the ram upon the opposite end of the beam will
give any amount of pressure required.. When it is required to raise the
plate F, F, the water is discharged from under the ram on which the end of
'the beam connected therewith descends, being loaded as a counterbalance to
the plate F, F. For that purpose the carriage is then moved forward, as
'before described, to any part of the bed A, A, to repeat the process.
Thirdly, as to the new mode or process of burning bricks, tiles, pottery,

page_text: and other useful articles of earthenware.-The new more consists of a circular
kiln divided into a number of compartments or ovens communicating with one
another, and which communication may be cut off or stopped up; and each
compartment or oven also communicates by flues with a central chimney,
which communication may also be cut off or stopped up as may be required.
In the annexed Drawings, Figure 10 is a plan, and Figure 11 a sectional
.elevation of my improved kiln.. Numbers 1 to 12 are the compartments or
ovens into which it is divided. A, A, &c. the doors or openings between the
compartments or ovens. B, B, the flues leading from the ovens to the
central chimney. D, the apertures between the ovens. Numbers 1 to 12
are shewn as closed. The flues of the ovens Numbers 1 to 8 are also shewn
as closed, and the aperture between Numbers 9 and 10 is also shown as
closed. The ovens Numbers 1 to 9 are charged with the bricks, tiles, pottery,
or other articles to be burnt; the fire is kindled in Number 1, and the hot
air and smoke pass through all the ovens one after the other by the commu-
nicating apertures until they arrive at the oven Number 9, which having its flues
open, and the aperture No. 10 closed, they pass through the flue and into
and out of the central chimney. A great economy of heat, and consequently
fuel, will thus be effected; and all the bricks, tiles, or pottery will be burnt
equally, and there will be no less, as in common kilns, from the production of
place bricks or burrs. It will be seen in the Plan that there are three ovens
cut off from the fire, Numbers 10, 11, and 12; from one of these three, while
the burnt or finished bricks, tiles, or other articles are being removed, new
and unburnt bricks, tiles, or pottery are being placed in the second, and the
fire is being prepared, or fuel laid thereupon in the third. But if a stronger
draught is required, a less number of kilus or compartments are to be
usel. At intervals of time, as a day or more, according to the size of the
articles, number of ovens in the circle, or other circumstances, the fire is
advanced from one oven to another, and the communication of the series opened
or closed, as shewn in the Drawing. The oven of bricks or other articles at the
further end of the circle, or. that has been longest subject to the action of the
fire, being separated by the stoppage of the aperture, is then to be emptied,
preparatory to receiving a new charge, and so on in constant succession
throughout the whole circle of ovens.
Figure 12 is a plan, and Figure 13 a sectional clevation of another modi-
fication, in which the.central chimney and shafts are dispensed with, kilns of
the usual construction being arranged in a. circle, and made to communicate
with each other, as may be expedient, each kiln or compartment having
chimneys in the usual manner, which may be stopped by merely laying a tile

page_text: over such of them as may be necessary. Although I have described my kiln
as being formed of a circular arrangement of ovens or compartments, I do not
confine myself to that peculiar disposition, as it is obvious that any desirable
number of ovens or compartments may be placed or disposed in various ways
to communicate with one another and with a chimney, and to admit of the
connection and disconnection of one or more from the rest of them.
Figure 14 is a Plan shewing the arrangements for distributing the bricks,
tiles, and pottery to the different hacks or drying house. In the centre is
placed the pug mill before described, with two principal railways leading
therefrom, having turntables upon each, opposite other railways laid down and
communicating therewith between the hacks or drying houses, which are
formed double. As the bricks, tiles, or pottery are formed by the before-
mentioned machinery, or moulded by the ordinary means, they are carried by
trucks moving upon one or other of the principal railways, and by means of
the turntables upon the latter are transferred to any of the other railways
between the hacks or drying houses, upon or in which they are distributed to
dry. When the bricks, tiles, or pottery are thus dried, or partly dried, they are
compressed by the machine before described, which travels upon the said rail-
ways to any part required; or they may be submitted to the pressure of any
other description of press that may be available for that purpose, after which
they are restored back to the place they occupied on the hacks or in the
drying houses, to be finally dried preparatory to being burnt. By this con-
trivance the danger of breaking or otherwise damaging the bricks, tiles, or
pottery (by their being removed from the hacks or drying houses to the com-
pressing machine and back) is obviated; there will also be a considerable
portion of time saved thereby.
:
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim exclusive
right to under my said Letters Patent, is,―
Firstly, the new combination of materials, herein-before described, for
making bricks, tiles, pottery, and other useful articles, however the proportions
thereof may be varied, or in whatever manner the same may be combined.
Secondly, the machine or machinery for making the said bricks, tiles,
pottery, and other useful articles in the two several varieties thereof herein-
before described, and any other modifications of which the same is susceptible,
without prejudice to the general system of operation followed, but without
meaning thereby to claim any of the parts of which the said machine or
machinery consists singly and separately, or otherwise than as they are newly
arranged and combined for the purposes of my said Invention; and,

page_text: Thirdly, the new mode or process herein-before described for buruing the
said.bricks, tiles, pottery, and other useful articles.
And such my said Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief,
entirely new, and never before used within that part of Her Majesty's United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of
Wales, Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, or in any of Her Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, I do hereby declare this to be my Specification of the
same, and that I do verily believe this my said Specification doth comply fully
.and in all respects, without reserve or disguise, with the proviso in the said
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent contained; wherefore I hereby
claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-
.. ninth-day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and forty-one.
JOSEPH (L.s.) GIBBS..
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on. the Twenty-ninth day of October, in
the year of our Lord.1841, the aforesaid Joseph Gibbs came before our said
Lady the Queen. in. Her :Chancery, and acknowledged. the Specification
,aforesaid, and all and every. thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written.. And also the. Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute. made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord