US40221A - Brick-machine - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

C. CHAMBERS. Jr.

BRICK MACHINE Patented Oct. 6, 1863.

.YANN

Ir k. Ilmmum 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

C. CHAMBERS. Jr. BRIGK MACHINE.

No. 40,221. Patented Oct. 6, -1.863.

a-nd forming dies. .stationary plate.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

evans CHAMBERS, JR., or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

.BRICK-MACHINE Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 10,22l, dated October 6, 1863.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CvRUs CHAMBERS, Jr., of the city of Philadelphia, in the State ot' Pennsylvania have invented a new and Improved BriclLZMachine; and I do hereby declare the iolowingr to be a full and correct description of the same, reference being had to the aceompaning drawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical central longitudinal section of the machine. oFig. 2 is a top view of the same; Figs.`3, 4, and 5, detailed view of the dies. Fig-6 is a side elevation, on an en-` larged scale, of the kniieguide. Fig. 7 is an end view of the ily-wheel, knife, and knife guide. Fig. Sis a side view of the knife with its holder and spring, the knife being shown in two positions. Fig. 9 is a sideview ofthe conical screw, showing its extra thread. Fig. 10 is a v iew of the inclined plane or guide. Fig. 1l is a central longitudinal section of the screw., its shell or case, and the compressing Fig. 12 is a top view ofthe Fig. 13, Sheet 2, is a perspective view of the machine complete and in operation. l

The same part is indicated by the same letter of reference wherever it occurs.-

The nature of my invention consists in cer- Atain improvements, vhereinafter particularly described and shown,in that class of brickmachines in which the clay is forced through a die in a continuous stream, and afterward cut. into' the proper lengths to form bricks. Machines of this general character arein common use in England and France, and are more especially used in the production of hollow or perforated bricks. The bricks made by these Vmachines in Europe are not remarkable for density or tine finish, the corners and edges being` apt to present a ragged appearance. Moreover, the mode of cutting the bar of clay .into bricks by a knife or wire passing rigidly in a plane at right angles to thecourse of the clay, but not moving with it or affected by its motion, had the ei'e'ct to interfere with the shape of the brick and prevent its being exactly rectangular. In these machines the means used to propel the clay are. the plunger or reciprocating piston, or the double or single spiral flange or screw working in a chamber of equal diameter throughout. In most, if

not all, of them the clay used has been already carefully pugged in another machine, usually an ordinary pug-mill, and all foreign substances carefully removed to avoid danger to the dies, and to secure as much as possible that exclusion of air and uniformity of texture which are essential to 'the perfection of brickmaking by this mode; but even with this precautiomwhich adds the expense of a double handling to the manufacturer, the 4bricks are not solid or smooth on the c orner' or angles.

The object of my invention is to remedy as f ar as possible the defects of this mode of mans ut'acture, while securin g the great and obvious advantages of rapidity andconsequent cheap-l ness. Ihe first step in this direction is the connection of the pugging mill or chamber with the machine in such a way that the pug- A.ging orcomminution of the clay is performed in the same chamber from which the clay passes Without change of direction to the dies and by the operation of the same machinery. The next step was so to modify the shape of the pugging-chamber that the clay in its passage toward the dies is very gradually compressed and freed from air, thus beingirendered by the same process more dense and more plastic. My next step consisted in so constructing the propelling spiral flange or screw as to preserve the homogeneity of the structure of the clay or arrangement of the particles by preventing its arranging itself in those concentric or other layers which impart to it 'a striated appearance when burned and give it a tendency to break in the lines of the lamin, Whatever they may be, instead of having an evenfracture in any desired direction under the operation ot' the trowel.

To prevent 'the machine from being overstrained, should a stone or other obstruction get into the die or threads of the screw, and thus prevent the passage of the clay,or should the pugging-knives feed the clay tothe screw faster than itv will receive it, I have attached a Sat'etySValve, V3, at the end of the temperling-case, so weighted as to prevent the clay from exuding during the ordinary operation of the machine, but capable of being raised by the force of the clay when the pressure from any cause becomes greater than is desired. There is also a hand or man hole, V, in the screw-case for the purpose of taking out the stones that may-lodge in the threads of the screw. The die is hinged, so as to be readily opened to remove any foreign substance that may lodge in it.

My next iinln'ovenwnt had for its object.- to secure. by anew airangenient ofthe matter, smooth and unbroken edges and corners to the bricks. lieiiection will show that the ordina-r) operation of aplunger or other pro peiling device in amachine with an ordinary die is to produce the greatest amount of velocity in the center of the mass, giving the outer edges and surfaces less, and hence more liable to be rendered ragged and broken by partial adhesion to the die while passing through. it. The remedy for this is to he sought ina reversal ofthe ordinary disposition of thematerial, forcing the greatest amount of clay into the edges and corners of the brick and compressing itthere, so that the last action of the die upon it will be. to give it smoothness instead ot tearing it and rendering it rough and ragged. The. peculiar form ot' my die completely effects this object.

The continuous moving bar of clay, as it passes from the die should present a smooth dense rectangular parallelopiped, with sharp well-deiined angles or corners. lt has then only to be cnt into proper lengths to form perfectly-shaped bricks To cut this bar while moving at right angles to its length, so that the end superlicies of the bricks shallbe planes exactly at right angles to4 the planes ofthe sides, is a practical problem oi' some nicety. The mode ot solving it which I have devised is to l'etthe cutter move laterally exactly at the same rate as the clay, which is accomplished by an adjustable inclined plane secured in' such a position as to move the knite and its guide forward,'with the bar duc ing the severance ofthe clay. The division of the bar of clay into bricks exactly even lengths is effected by making the bar itself control the knife which divides it. 'Ihe bricks nthus served would be inconvenient to handle it they were not separated from each other by a greater' interval than the width of the serving-knife. To secure this separation, I gear y the olf-bearing apron which receives the bricks so as t'o move faster than the apron which supports the' uncut bar.

The foregoing observations will fully eX plain the principles'vby which I have been guided in the construction of myimproved ma chine, and will best illustrate the nature of the invention and in what manner it is Loubeings,in which the appearance ofthe completep machine in full operation is clearly shown by the perspective view presented on Sheet 2, W'herethe crude clay is represented in the act of bii'l'g fed to the machineand the completed ybrick delivered to the off-bearers. i The machine is set in and lsupported by brick-work in the inannerclearly shown in this figure.

In the drawings, A marks a stout frameof iron tied by braces B.

G is a short shaft, towhich are attached the last and loose pulleys D and E, to which the band from any suitable prime mover is applied. On the end of shaft-C is. cogged pinion'F, gearing into cog wheel G on long shaft H. A pinion, l, on the end of shaft H en-l gages with and drives' main cog-wheel J on the main shaft K. Into thisshat't are spirally inserted the tempering-blades o c, &c., Aand to its inner end is attached the conical screw L.

lVl marks the tempering or plugging cham-l ber, which is cylindrical in format the feed end and conical at the delivery end, as shown.

` lt basan opening, Q, in the top for the introduction of the clay. Attached by bolts to the conical end of chamber M is conical screwcase N, in which the screw L works. The internal surface of this case is roughened or checkeretbas shown in Fig. 1,i`o1 thtl purpose ot' preventing the clay ffrom revolving in the case as the screw or flange revolves. -The `screw L, Fig. 9, isconstructed so that the end at which the clay enters it is large in dameter, to receive-the clay from the small end of". the tempering-case, and gradually tapers toward the point, so as to deliver the-clay at the center or on aA line with the center of the shaft. Thev shaft.` or body of the screw L is reduced to a point at the.outer'end,and gradually increases in size, so that the area ofthe space between it and the large end of the screw-case `is equal to the area of the small v end of the case.' Thereforethe screw is capable of delivering at the point, and on a line with its center all the clay it receives at the base. l'

1n order to insure the threads filling with in Fig. 4 and lettered L. The compressing-` f diev0`is hinged to the smaller end ofcase N its vcross-section at its outer end vis rectangular, as shown in Fig, 4.,; its innerend is round,

as shown in Fig. 3, and a cross-section of its centeris represented by ,-Fig. 5. The corners are here seen rounded out or grooved,'and these grooves gradually taper till they disappear at the angles lof the outer rectangular opening. of the die. The object 'of these grooves is to crowd a greater quantity of clay into the corners of the bar, so as to give them greater so'lidity and firmness, in accordance with the views hereinbefore stated. To this die O is attacheda plain rectangular die, P.

The dies are lined withsteel to diminish wear, and thus preventirregularity in thesizc of the bricks. The outer end of the main shaft K works in a head-block, R, which isadjusted by bolts b and nuts n, and receives' the backward thrust of the shaft. On long shaftH is placed hollow shaft Z, on one end of which is bevel-pinion S, meshing into bevel-wheel T on cross-shaft U. On the other end of this shaft U is pulley V, which, with pulley W, carriesendless apron a. This apron, which :sustains the weight of the bar of clay, H', is fsnpported throughout. its entire length bythe sinall rollers r 1, Ste. .It is tightened when re'- quiredby pulley X, Fig. 1, which is applied to vfits'\`s,`urface with any required degree of force by means of the lever l, operated by the foot and.l held in any desired position by the pins p.' The apron a receives the bar of clay El' as it cornes-from the die P. To theouter end' of hollow shaft Z is attached ily wheel Y, whichruns on thc shaft H loose, and carries the spring knife-stock `KG, ('see Figs. 2 and 8,) to. the end of which the knife k is attached by a hinge, h, Fig. 8. The shaft H is'so geared .that it makes more than one revolution while wheel Y more than one revolution while the` -bar lof clay is moving the length of -a brick;

but' as the ily-wheel is 'connected to the bar of clay byV means of the hollow shaft Z, pin! ion S, wheel T, shaft U, band-wheel V, and

f endless apron a, (which is long` enough to pre` vent the bar of clay from slipping upon it,)

` the' ily-wheel is thus prevented by the clay from making more 4than one revolution, thereby keeping the ily-wheel, with its knife, under the'control of the cla-y, the friction-spring s' .onthe friction-wheel o' being so regulated as to communicate sufficient power to the wheel to do' the cutting on", but not so much as to overcome the resisting' power of the bar of clay. Thus the knife It always cuts the -bar into lengths' exactly equal to eachother without reference to the speed of the machine. The clay barvis supported at the line of section by a rectangular guide, L', Figs. 6 and 7, which .the bar passes through a distance equal to the length of one brick previous to severance. Guide-bars G G' project up from L' to receive and guide the knife k in its passage to and 'through the bar of clay. The guide L' is attached to arm l) which is hinged at e to the .lower framing I' of the machine, as shown in Figs. Gand 7. lt is allowed a short vibration, controlled by a spring,f, Fig. 6. It can thus movea short distance with-the bar of clay H' While this is being severed by the knife k, and then is retracted to its standing-point by the spring f until the knife againente-rs the cla-yat another revolution of fly-wheel Y. To relieve the knife from anypressure the moving bar'ot' clay would exert against it While passing through, there is secured to the side ot the frame an adjustableinclined plane, G2, (see Figs. 1,2, 6,an d 7, and 10,) against which the knife-frame slides, thereby receiving on its descent a lateral motion, the inclination being just equal to the distance the clay moves during the passage of the knife through it.

This lateral motion is communicated to the i knife-guide or clay-support L', Figs. 6 and 7,

by means of the clamps, between whichl the knife is secured passing between two horns or projections, G' Gr', Figs..l, 6, and 7. Thus a simultaneous lateral motion of the knife with its guide and cla-y-snpporter'and the bar of clay is obtained. The knife 7c` is a thin piece of tempered steel, Fig. 8, secured to the swinging cam 7L by bolts and clamp. This cam h is held in position by the spring s with just sniicient force to prevent the knife from .turning with the resistance of the clay during its passage through if, but not with sufficient force to break the knife or stop the `ily-wheel in case any foreign substance interfered with its passage, but will allow the knife to .turn back, as shown in the dotted line in Fig. 8, to clear the obstruction, when it is brought to its original position by the eccentricity of the cam, which is so shaped that the spring will overcome the greatest resistance at the commeneement -of the backward moti'on. `The arm K, in the end of which the knife-cam h turns, is secured to the fly-wheel Y in such manner asto admit ofa slight lateral uio'tion either bythe spring of the arm, as represented,

or itmay work on centers and be held in po-Y sition by a separate spring. The end of the bar of clay protruding through the knife-guide and clay-supporter is supported by a stationary platform, H3, the length of the protrud- -ing portion to prevent the off-bearing apron from parting the brick from the bar before it is severed entirely by the knife. The shaft H at its outer'end carries lpulley A', connected by a band, B', to pulley C' on short shaft D'. On this shaft is bevel-pinion E', gearing with bevel-wheel F', which ,has onits other end pulley V', which, with pulleys 'V' and W2, (see Fig. 1,) carries the off-bearing apron a', which is supported, like apron a, ou small rollers 1^, tbc., throughout its length. This ,apron is tightened when desired by pulley X',

applied to it by means of lever l' in a precisely similar manner to that in which apron a has been, already described as being tightened. The drivin g-pulley V' of this apron is so geared that the apron is runconsid'erably faster than vapron a, the eect ot' which is to separate the pered by the operation of the blades c, which gradually force it toward. the conical end of the'chamber until it is brcught under the acyi-ion of the spiral and conical flange or screw L, which presses it through the crmipressingdie into a nd.through the forming-die, whencel vf l`hebar is received upon the endless aron a. which, by its weight-aud vadhesiomit thus governingthe 'rotation of the pulley Vf and Awheel-T, shaft X, and flywheel Y, with its at-' 'cachedA knife k. and these are so geared that] the wheel Y will make one revolution while the bar moves the exact length of a brick. '.When the bar H reaches and enters the guide L,'the knife k descends through the guides 'G' G', and enters and..scvers the bar.4 The lever' K, which carries the knife-cam, coming in contact withvthe inclined plane G2, receives a lateral motion inst 'equal to the motion of the clay which it comnnmicates to the guidcsGG", and-thus to the knife guide and clay-supporter,'while the knife is passing through the clay, so thatthe relative positions of the knife and clay are not altered d'urng'the cutting or .severing process,-an dv theends of `the bricks vare perfectly at right angles with-the sides. The guidev L and knife vare immediately drawn back to their originalv positions by the spring f and the spring of the arm 7s as soon as the knife has passed throught-he bar. Tho severed brick is l'received on the stationary plate H3, from which it is pushed by the advancing bar of clay-until the friction of the otlbearn g apron 'is sucient to draw it nii", when it is received onto olf-'bearing apron al', which, beinggeared to'move faster than aproh a, and being driven independently of the bar of clay by connectio); with shaft F, separates the bricks )by a considerable interval .and {nciht-'tes their removal by the oifbea-rers. lI clam- 1.'Arranging in thesaine horizontal line with each other the tempcring'chamber, impellingscremiand forming die, so .as to secure direct-ness of action vanil simplicity 'ofge'ar-- inra described .2. Imparting to the 4tempering-chamber and screw-case the tapering form described and shown, so as to gradually compress .the clay and exclude the air in its passage to the forming-die, as specified.

3. So constructing a screw that the clay may enter it at an annular space and be delivered in a solid mass opposite its end and at the center of the screw, substantially in the manner and for therpurpose described.

4. Preventing the clay from revolving with the screwin the screw-case by roughening or cheekering the interior surface of that case, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a knife with a ilywheel for the purpose of severing a bar of clay into proper lengths for bricks, the velocity of said fly-wheel being regulated or controlled by that of the bar of clay.

6. The combination of the apron a with the 4fly-wheel Y and knife lc, all. arranged for conjoint operation, substantially in the manner and for the purpose specified.

7. Propelling the cut-off device by means of a friction-clutch, and regulating the power of said clutch by means of a'yieldingpressnre.

8. The yielding severing-knife k, constructed and operating substantially as set forth.

9. Supporting the clay at the line of severance by a movable frame or supporting stirrup-guide, L', through which the knife lc is guided, as and for the purpose stated.

,10. Moving the knife and the supportingguide L together during the severance of the bar at the same speed withwhich the bar of clay advances, for the purposeof cutting oi'. the brick at right angles to the course of the bar, as directed. 11. Driving the off-bearing apron a at reater speed than that-of the bar of clay, for the purpose of separating the bricks by a sufficient interval, as described.

l2. Giving-to the. conical impelling-screw a gradual' increasing depth or thread, to secure uniformity between the amount of clay received bythe b ase of the screw andvthat delivered at its point, as set forth.

The above specification ot' my said invention signed and witnessed, at Philadelphia, this 18th day of December, A. D. 1862.

oInUs CHAMBERS, JR'.

Witnesses:

I sA'Ao L. Lavis, WILLIAM BLACKBURN.

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