Improvements in the Manufacture of Bricks, Tiles, Blocks and such like Articles from Plastic and Powdered Substances.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Sept., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 12th June, 1900-Accepted, 12th Sept., 1900
Improvements in the Manufacture of Bricks, Tiles, Blocks and such
like Articles from Plastic and Powdered Substances.
I, REGINALD STANLEY, J.P., of Manor Court, Nuneaton, in the County of
Warwick, Engineer and Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention consists of improvements in the manufacture of bricks, tiles,
blocks, and such like articles from plastic and powdered substances, the objects
of my said improvements being to produce from a moulding or pressing machine
a brick or article which shall at the same time receive a coating or facing, of a
different substance or character from the internal mass, thus imparting to the
surface of the prepared brick or the like, after it has been burnt or baked, a
particular quality, colour, vitrification, or finish, according to the nature of the
said coating, or without any burning or baking in the case of cement blocks and
such like articles.
The material to be employed for a coating or facing, as above described, may
be clay, oxide of iron or manganese oxides which will fuse easily and produce
a good colour, or other material may be used as may be found most suitable for
desired object. In this manner, bad coloured red clay, for instance, might be
coated or faced so as to resemble and be equal in many respects to a brick of the
best quality and appearance, and produce a building of pleasing colour.
The material aforesaid may be applied by injecting it around the inside of the
die box immediately before the entry of the moulded or partially moulded brick
or block which is to be pressed therein. I provide suitable means for doing this,
and I may employ perforated sides of the die box, or perforated plungers or
bottom plate or other means for injecting said material so as to line or partially
line the die box and afford either a complete covering or only one or two special
surfaces to the brick or the like. The coating material may be in the form of
dry or damp dust or as slip, mixed with lubricating or other liquid, and may be
injected by the action of steam, compressed air or gas, or by the use of hydraulic
pressure, and it has not time to fall or run off the walls of the die box, before
ihe brick or block (or substance composing same) enters and becomes pressed,
with the result that the coating becomes attached to and incorporated into the
substance of the brick or like article so pressed. The feed box or hopper supply-
ing the unfinished brick or the like to the die box should be smaller than the
die box itself, so that in entering, there may be little or no material dislodged
from its position in the die box previous to being pressed against and forming
a covering or facing of said brick or the like.
I generally prefer that the perforations in the sides of the die box before
mentioned should be situated above the level of the part where the greatest
pressure comes during the process of pressing the brick or the like; and
there are many details of design and working which need not here be entered
upon, but will be more fully set forth hereafter,

page_text: It will be evident that other means or methods may be adopted than those
herein described for the introduction of the special material for forming a
coating or skin upon the article pressed. For example, the slip might be caused
to run down the sides of the die box from the top, or in the case of dust might
be blown around the inside of box by means of a nozzle or by other means, the
injection of said material being followed immediately by the insertion of the
brick or other article or substance as above mentioned.
T J 1
Improvements in the Manufacture of Bricks, Tiles, Blocks and such
like Articles from Plastic and Powdered Substances.
I, REGINALD STANLEY, J.P., of Manor Court, Nuneaton, in the County of
Warwick, Engineer and Manufacturer, 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:-
This invention consists of improvements in the manufacture of bricks, tiles,
blocks, and such like articles from plastic and powdered substances, the objects
of my said improvements being to produce from a moulding or pressing machine
a brick or article which shall at the same time receive a coating or facing of a
different substance or character from the internal mass, thus imparting to the
surface of the prepared brick or the like, after it has been burnt or baked, a
particular quality, colour, vitrification, or finish, according to the nature of the
said coating, or without any burning or baking in the case of cement blocks and
such like articles.
The material to be employed for a coating or facing, as above described, may
be clay, oxide of iron or manganese oxides which will fuse easily and produce
a good colour, or other material may be used as may be found most suitable for
desired object. In this manner, bad coloured red clay, for instance, might be
coated or faced so as to resemble and be equal in many respects to a brick of the
best quality and appearance, and produce a building of pleasing colour.
The material aforesaid may be applied by injecting it around the inside of the
die box immediately before the entry of the moulded or partially moulded brick
or block which is to be pressed therein. I provide suitable means for doing this,
and I may employ perforated sides of the die box, or perforated plungers or
bottom plate or other means for injecting said material so as to line or partially
line the die box and afford either a complete covering or only one or two special
surfaces to the brick or the like. The coating material may be in the form of
dry or damp dust or as slip, mixed with lubricating or other liquid, and may be
injected by the action of steam, compressed air or gas, or by the use of hydraulic
pressure, and it has not time to fall or run off the walls of the die box,, before
the brick or block (or substance composing same) enters and becomes pressed,
with the result that the coating becomes attached to and incorporated into the
substance of the brick or like article so pressed. The feed box or hopper supply-
ing the unfinished brick or the like to the die box should be smaller than the
die box itself. so that in entering, there may be little or no material dislodged
from its position in the die box previous to being pressed against and forming
a covering or facing of said brick or the like.

page_text: I generally prefer that the perforations in the sides of the die box before
mentioned should be situated above the level of the part where the greatest
pressure comes during the process of pressing the brick or the like; and
there are many details of design and working which need not here be entered
upon, but will be more fully set forth hereafter.
It will be evident that other means or methods may be adopted than those
herein described for the introduction of the special material for forming a
coating or skin upon the article pressed. For example, the slip might be caused
to run down the sides of the die box from the top, or in the case of dust might
be blown around the inside of box by means of a nozzle or by other means, the
injection of said material being followed immediately by the insertion of the
brick or other article or substance as above mentioned.
The accompanying drawings to which I will now refer illustrate alternative
arrangements of carrying out my invention, only so much of the pressing machine
itself being shown as is necessary to make clear this description, the machine
being preferably of the top-and-bottom pressure type, such as described in
connection with my Patent No. 7297 of 1898. aly present invention can, how-
ever, with perfect convenience, be applied, to other brick and tile &c., making.
machines in which a die-box or equivalent is employed.
Figure 1 (Sheet 1) is a side elevation of one form of my apparatus for inject-
ing slip, the valves and reservoir being shown in section.
Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same, attached to a pressing machine shown
in sectional elevation through line A-B of Figure 4.
Figure 1 is a similar view to Figure 1 showing the invention as designed for
injecting dust instead of slip.
Figure 3 (Sheet 2) is a vertical section through line C-D of Figures 2 and 4
(the upper part of the machine being merely indicated in outline), and Figure 4
is a horizontal section through E-F, Figure 3.
Referring to the afore-mentioned Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, which all illustrate
one and the same arrangement, a is a cam fixed in a certain position to main
shaft of press b, rotating in the direction of the arrow and striking at every
revolution a rod c giving it a vertical stroke. The rod c is connected to a
lever d pivoted on a bracket d, and acts on the valves, opening them and closing
them alternately.
The air valve e is connected to a liquor receiver f by pipe e¹ and the receiver
is also connected to the die-box g by pipe f¹. The bottom part of liquor
receiver is made adjustable, so that by screwing it up or down its capacity will
be diminished or increased, thus regulating the quantity of contents according
to requirements.
Compressed air or steam is constantly supplied to the air valve e through a
pipe and the liquor receiver f is supplied with liquor from a reservoir h, the
supply being regulated by a valve ¹ which normally remains open, permitting
the receiver to be filled. The die-box g is fitted on each top side with a block gl,
each block grooved and fitted with three (or more or less) perforated spray
plates g². The die-box, itself, is drilled each side with a passage k k running
longitudinally with said spray plates and uniting at one end into a cross
passage, so that pipe f¹ supplies both sides of the die-box at the same time.
The perforations in plates g² are arranged to spray sides, ends, and bottom of box.
The action of this arrangement is as follows:
The rod e descending and acting on the lever d first closes the valve h¹ in
liquor receiver f thereby stopping the supply of liquor. Still descending, the
lever & strikes the head of air valve e and thus opens a clear passage through the
pipe e for the compressed air or steam which, entering into the liquor receiver f
freely drives the colouring liquor or slip up the delivery pipe f, dividing at the
cross passage in die box and out in the form of spray through the spray plates g³
on each side of die-box.
The return motion of rod c is accomplished by means of a spring c¹ pressing

page_text: against a collar c² fixed upon said rod, and against a guide bracket fixed to
the frame of machine. The rod e in rising, raises the end of lever d, thus
releasing the liquor valve h¹, upon which the receiver f becomes filled with
another charge. The air valve e is allowed to close (a little in advance of the
opening of valve ¹) by means of a spring and by the pressure behind it.
The short additional travel of the lever d, after it has, in descending, closed the
liquor valve h¹, is taken up by means of a spring. 2, and loose washer on the
valve spindle.
Referring now to Figure 1, which represents a device for blowing colouring
dust instead of liquor into the die, the general arrangement is not altered,
excepting so far as the working of the valve for controlling the dust feed is con-
cerned. The dust, in a finely powdered state, is fed from a hopper j provided
at a short distance from its bottom, with a sliding plate or dust valve which
leaves a space or chamber beneath same capable of holding sufficient dust for
one operation. The dust delivery pipe f¹ is situated opposite to the insertion of
the compressed air or steam discharge pipe e'. The working of the dust valve j¹
is performed by the vertical movement of the rod e, (as in the previous case),
for which purpose I may fit two wedges upon said rod and provide a horizontal
cross bar capable of sliding in bearings in brackets fixeil to the frame, one
end of said cross bar being hinged to a pivotted lever m connected to the afore-
said dust valve. The wedges may be made to give a horizontal movement
to the cross bar working within a fork or crank provided thereon or therein,
and in place of wedges, I may bend the rod c itself into a suitable form for the
purpose.
Figure 5 (Sheet 3) is a side elevation of an alternative form of my apparatus
for injecting slip (the valves and reservoir being in section), and
Figure 6 is a end elevation of same, showing the adjacent parts of the pressing
machine in section.
Figure is a cross section of the die-box employed in this form showing also
the head of the lower plunger.
According to this arrangement, the connecting rod a¹ is loose on the shaft b,
the hole being slotted to allow of vertical travel. It is fitted with rollers n' n²
at top and bottom on opposite sides of the rod. Cams a² and are fixed to
shaft b, and come in contact with the rollers ¹² on connecting rod a as shaft 3
revolves in the direction indicated by the arrow, thus causing vertical motion.
The connecting rod a¹ is connected to lever which is also connected to a liquor
force pump o and air valve e. The pump is supplied with liquor for each charge
from a reservoir h and is connected by a pipe o to the die-box g. The rollers n¹
are adjustable to allow of variation in the travel of connecting rod, thus
permitting a longer or shorter stroke to the pump plunger, thereby regulating
the quantity of liquor forced to the die-box. The air-valve has a constant supply
of compressed air, or steam supplied through pipe e, and is connected to die-
box by pipe o. Said die-box is fitted with two blocks each side, one upon
the other longitudinally. Each top block is hollowed out longitudinally for the
reception of the liquor, as at p, and has three (or more or less) branches, each
branch having a perforated plate p¹ fitted, to allow liquor to fall into the lower
block which is likewise hollowed, as at g, but also contains an additional chamber
or groove communicating with the compressed air or steam supply. The lower
block is fitted with perforated spray plates 2 at the termination of short branches
directed towards the interior of die. The die-box g as separate passages for air
and liquor and 72 respectively, drilled longitudinally each side, one above the
other and across one end (as shown in Figure 6) to meet the air (or steam) and
liquor pipes ol and o², said passages communicating with the chambers q¹, P, as
above mentioned. The action of this form of my invention is as follows:-
The cam in revolving comes in contact with the lower roller 2 on con-
necting rod a', which being connected to lever forces the liquor out of pump

page_text: The
cylinder o, through pipe o², into the liquor chamber p in die-box g and finally
into chamber in front of the air chamber q. At the same time or a little
before the air valve e is opened and allows the compressed air or steam to blow
in: die-box.
freely through the pipe o' into the air chamber q' and chamber
compressed air or steam coming out through the branches of said air chamber
meets the liquor dropping from liquor chamber p and drives it through the
perforated spray plates before named. The perforations in plates 93 are
arranged to spray sides, ends and bottoms of die box. The return motion is
performed by cam a coming in contact with the upper roller n' on connecting
rod a' which raises the lever d, allowing the air valve c to close by means of a
spring and the pressure behind it, and the pressure behind it, and also allowing
the pump o to receive a fresh charge of liquor.
In all cases, when the material of which the brick tile, or the like is to be
moulded and pressed is semi-dry or powdered clay or the like, the travel of the
feed box is usually timed so that the said material falls into the die immediately
the lower plunger falls (after delivering a brick or tile, for instance) down into
the die. Therefore, in order to allow sufficient time for the die walls to be
sprayed with the colouring slip or dust before the clay or the like enters, I
purpose attaching a piece or strip r to the feed box, as shewn in Figure 3, the
effect of which will be to delay the falling of the clay powder until the spraying
has taken place.
I desire to say that my present invention may be employed for the single
purpose of lubricating the interior of die boxes of moulding or pressing machines
with ordinary lubricating liquid, without having in view the purpose of giving a
coating or facing to the article, and with this object, as with the other, any
ordinary construction of brick or tile moulding or pressing machine may be made
capable of taking my special form and arrangement of die box as herein described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that
what I claim is:-
1. In the manufacture of bricks, tiles, blocks, and such like articles, the
method of applying a coating or facing to the article while under pressure in
the die, by previously lining or partially lining the die box with coating or
facing material injected in the form of dry or damp dust or as slip, mixed with
lubricating or other liquid, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
2. In the manufacture of bricks, tiles, blocks, and such like articles, the
method of spraying the inner walls of the die box with lubricating liquid
immediately prior to the entrance thereinto of the brick, tile, or substance com-
posing the same or the like which is then pressed, substantially as hereinbefore
set forth.
3. In the manufacture of bricks, tiles, blocks, and such like articles, the use
of a die box, each side of which (or one side only) contains a passage communi-
cating at certain points with the interior of said die box, combined with a liquor
or dust receiver connected therewith by a supply pipe, and also a liquor valve
or dust valve and a compressed air or steam supply valve for admitting liquor
or dust into said receiver, said valves being operated automatically in such a
inanner as to cause the contents of said receiver to be blown through said supply
pipe into the interior of the die box for the purpose and the whole substantially
as herein before set forth.
4. In the manufacture of bricks, tiles, blocks, and such like articles, the use of
a die box, having two hollow blocks, one upon the other, along the top of each
opposite side thereof (or one side only), the uppermost block or blocks communi-
cating with the under block or blocks, and fed from a liquor force pump through
a passage or passages in the die wall, and the under block or blocks communi-
cating with the interior of the die box, and receiving at intervals a blast of
compressed air or steam conveyed through a passage or passages in the die wall,

page_text: combined with a liquor force pump and compressed air or steam valve, the whole
operated by suitable gearing and the whole arranged substantially in the manner
described in the foregoing description.