US114011A - Improvement in brick-machines - Google Patents

Description

DAVID J. HUNTER. Improvement in Brick-Machines.

No. 114,011. PatentedApril25,1871.

jfiairni difioz;

also I state Letters Patent No. 114,011 dated April 25, 1871 v I IMPROVEMENT IN BRICK-MACHINES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the ma.

:Somerville, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements on the Brick-Machine heretofore invented by; my,

and for which I have received Letters Patent, of the- United States N 0.. 96,920,":tnd of which the following is a specification; and I do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the con: struction and operation-of the same, reference being had t6 the annexed drawing making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a front elevation Figure 2, a sectional side elevation;

Figure 3, a plan; 7

Figure 4, a plan view of the cam L and the camtable M, both being mounted on the upright shai't G, the cam L above the cam-table M, they being thus combined in the drawing to show their relative position and action when in motion; and

-- 1 Figure 5, a plan vicw of the cam L, the horizontal plunger J J, which is moved by it, the bar F, which connects its heads, the inner part d" of 'one of the brick-molds, '1', and the steam-pipes t t, by which said molds are lubricated. 1

The original machine is for molding and pressing bricks from clay, and the object soughtin the present improvements is to obtain the same result and in the same general way, but to dispense with many of the parts employed in the original machine, and by the substitution of others, fewer in number, to reduce the necessary workingparts to the-lowest possible Ill1[11bEI,-Etlld thus to gain greater ease in working, less liability to "derangement, a very large reduction in the cost of construction, and all the advantages which flow iromsimplicity of mechanism.

- The machine as improved consists in the employment of an upright cylindrical tub, A, mounted upon an elevated platform, supported by a strong frame of proper construction, the interior of the tub being providedwith an upright shaft, armed with knives for agitating and mixing the clay therein, and which shaft carries upon it, near to the bottom of the tub, a gate for alternately opening and shutting two orifices made through the bottom of the tub at opposite points in its area, such gate serving to direct the clay into molds disposed below the bottom of the tub and comnmnicating with these orificesfa horizontal plungel, operated by a suitable mechanism, being combined with each mold to compress the clay within it, and a reciprocating gate, situated at the outer end of each mold, and serving, at ditferent times, as one side of the mold, as a platform to receive, when molded and pressed, the brick as it is expelled from its mold,

and asa carriage to lift thefinished brick to a pointy convenient for its removal by an attendant; also a device for lubricating or sweating the molds after the delivery of each brick therefrom.

It is here especially to be borne in mind, as applicable to I the detailed descrlptionthat is to follow, that this machine as now described; is a doubleacting'one, so that the entire process relating to the brick is completed on each half of the machine, and exactly repeated ou-the opposite half and by each half revolution of the upright shaft,'and that all the parts described as necessary to effect the result on one side or half of the machine are exactly duplicated in form and situation diametrically opposite onthe other halfor side; and that forthis reason no special exhibition orexact'and detailed description of these duplicated parts or their action on, the side where they are so duplicated is necessary.

In the drawing to which allusion has been made as accompanying this specification, and which illustrates my present invention and improvements, the tub is represented at A as an upright hollow cylinder placed upon an elevated platform, 0, upheld by upright posts D 'at the corners thereof, or other suitable frame or structure for supporting the'operating parts of the-machine.

lVithin the tub A l dispose an upright shaft, G, armed with knives to agitate and mix the clay, which shaft extends through the bottom of the tub A and isstepped within a suitable block, H, erected upon or within the substructure of the machine.- i

This shaft is secured-at the top by a journal, a,

working in a four-arm yoke, b, placed abbve the top of the tobA, and properly secured in its place by iron rods extendingfi'om the end of each arm to the platform 0 beneath, or otherwise.

This shaft G, close tothe-bottom of the tub A, carries a segmental flange or wing, c, which extends to the wall of the tub and revolves directly over the bottom of the tab, the oifice of this flange being to direct portions of the clay alternately into two orifices, d, and its duplicate made through the bottom of the tab at diametrically opposite points, the width and depth of these orifices being the length and width respectively desired for thebrick to be made, and of a length suflicient with the dimensions before given to afford space for clay enough to form the brick.

The advance portion 0 of the flange c is inclined upward, in order to insure the passage of clay under One of the molds for producing the perfectly-formed brick, shown at I, and its duplicate on the opposite side, are situated immediately below the bottom of the tub, and are in alignment with and form continuationsof the orifices dand its duplicate before mentioned, and have their onlyother openings upon the front and back side of the machine, the front opening being seen in fig. 1, and is marked X.

J J is a doubled-headed lunger, playing horizontally within the mold I and its duplicate, its opposite heads being rigidly'connected by the bar F, which straddles the upright shaft G, the necessary movements'of the plunger being efiected by a cam, L, mounted upon said'shaft, and disposed between and abutting against rollers fitted to each of the inner ends of said plunger.

A revolution of the shaft, by the action of the cam L, produces alternate motions of the plunger into and out of the molds, in the manner shown here..

after.

As the mold I and its duplicate have respectively openings upon the front and back side of the machine which must be closed to form tight chambers in which the brick may be pressed by the outward advance of the plunger, and which must also heagain opened in order to allow of the expulsion of the brick from the mold after it has' been properly compressed therein, I disposeupon the front and back side of the machine,

'- and overeach open mouth of the molds, vertical sliding gates K and its duplicate, supported by and playingin suitable guides'S S, with gibs and set-screws, and furnished with such stems T and its duplicate as afford not only opportunity to aflix such attachments as are necessary to connect the gates with the camtable M, by which they are operated, but also, by being extended through and playing in suitable orifices in the bed-plate of the machine, shall keep the gates in theirproper position, and enable themto move freely and accurately in said guides, and which gates, if

' found necessary or useful in practice, may be countor-balanced.

The proper intermittent movement of these gates, over and away from the mold openings, are effected through the agency of the circular cam-table M, fixed uponthe upright-shaft G, and revolving with the shaft, a plan view of which is shown in fig. 4, as well a plan view'of the cam L, which gives alternate forward and backward motion to the double-headed plunger, as before mentioned, this super-position of the .cam L giving also an accurate representation of the synchronous movement of the cam L and camtable M, when themachine is in operation. A front view-of the cam-table is shown in fig. 1. Th s cam-table M is divided into four .parts, numberedfrom 1 to 4 respectively. Part 1, and much the largest division, consists of a horizontal disk, with that part of its circumferenceforming parts 2, 3, and and 4s depressed for that purpo e part 2, in the order of rotation, a descending plan part 3, a horizontal plane; and part 4, an ascending plane, meeting thehorizontal plane of part 1 For the sake ofclearness I will here explain its action. 7

To connect the cam-table with the gate-stems, rollers o 0', one abovennother, and at right angles to the gate-stems T -i, as seen in. fig. 2, are attached to the inner side of each of the gate-stems at such distance apart as to allow the cam-table to play between them, and at such points-on the stems that said cam-table shall close both gates-when. part 1 rests between their rollers on-both stems.

The cam-table is made of snfiicient circumference and thickness'to extend to'and work between the rollers of' the gate-stems upon the opposite sides of the machine at the same time.

The cam-table being put in motion while part1 is passing between the rollers, it presents a'horizontal plane of uniform thickness 10- the horizontal rollers '0 0', and therefore while it is passing between them firmly in its .place at whatever point it may be; but

down by part 2 till part 4 advances, and, with its as cending plane acting upon the upper roller 0, lifts the gate back to its place.

In completing the revolution of the shaft the same parts are presented to the parts duplicated on the opposite sideof the machine, and precisely the same action; is repeated. v Theform of the cam L is exhibited plainly in fig. 5 of the accompanying drawing, and is divided into five parts, numbered from 1' to 5 respectively. Part 1 of this cam departs at a tangent from the axis of the cam to such an extent as, when in motion, to force forward continuously the horizontal plunger J J into the mold 1' until it has completely pressed the brick, the initial point of said part 1' abutting against the inner end of said plunger J when it first commences its action. I I I Part .2 has for its curve the arc of a circle concentrio-with the axis of the cam, and whose diameter is slightly less'than the greatest diameter of part 1 that the vertical gate may be relieved of all pressure and be the more easily drawn down by the cam-table to allow of the expulsion of the brick.

; The curve of part 3 departs from the axis of the.

cam at such atangentas to again force forward the plunger and expel the brick from the mold through its now, open mouth. i I

The curve-ofpart 4' is a continuation of the great est diameter of the preceding part, and is concentric with the axis of the cam, in order to hold the horizontal plunger in its place till the brick has been carried by the returning gate to its-place.

The curve o'f part 5' is a semicircle, extending from the initial point of part 1' to part 4, and having the same diameter as'said initial point. The remainder of its boundary is the radial line drawn from the final point, in the order of rotation, of part 4, toward the' axialcenter of the cam, till it meets the semicircle aforesaid.

1 This form allows the free retraction of the part of the plunger that, after .the passage of part-4, has completed its office, and allows the cam to repeat its action as the shaft G completes its revolution .upon

the part of the plunger duplicated on the opposite a side ofthe machine.

To lubricate the molds in which the brick is formed, that it may more easily be expelled therefrom, 1 contraction of the plunger from'the mold a jet of steam shall be admitted into the mold suflicient to accomplish this purpose.

' Itotary motion is imparted to the shaft G by a beveled gear, R, fixed to the lower part thereof, this gear meshing into and receiving motion from a second beveled gear, S, mounted upon the driving-shaft I The above comprises the mechanical construction and arrangement of my improved machine.

Its method of operation is as follows:

I take as a starting point the position of the ma-. chine as shown in fig. 2 in the sectional side- ,cleYvation, with the-plunger J drawn back to its furthest point, and the orifice d in the bottom of the tub completelyopen, and the vertical gate KT at its highest point and closing the open mouth of the mold I, and confine the description, for the reason already given, (that the machine is double-acting,) to the half or right side of said fig. 2.

Clay in its crude or raw state, or otherwise, is placed in the tub A in proper quantities, and the machine put in motion.

The clay, by the advance of the revolving wing c, 'is crowded through the orifice d in the bottom of the tub A into the first portion d of the mold marked I, and by the time the horizontal or rear portion of the the wing c is over and forms a cover to said orifice d,

the cam L, also in motion, forces, by its part 1', the

horizontal plunger j forward, and drives the clay now at 11' into the forward part of the mold I, and, by its increasing curve, continues forcing the plunger forrelieved of all pressure.

Part 2 of the cam-table, which acts simultaneously with part 2 of the cam L, has, during the passage of part 2' of the cam L, by its act-ion on the rollers 0'0 attached to the gate-stem, drawn down the vertical gate K so that its upper edge is on a line with thebottom of the mold I, which upper edge is so constructed as to afford a sufficient platform to receive the now finished brick.

Part 3 of the cam L, following part 2', by its increased curve again throws forward the plunger, which carries before it and entirely out of the mold and forward upon the upper edge of the gate the finished brick m.

Simultaneously with this action of part 3-of the cam L the cam-table M has passed its part 3 between the rollers o o of the gate-stem, and, by its horizontal plane, held in its place the vertical gate K while the finished brick was being forced forward upon its upper edge.

The brick now being ready to be lifted to where it can easily be removed, the earn-table M, by its part 4, its ascending plane acting on the upper roller 0, lifts the vertical gate back to the point from which it started with thebrick on upon it, and, in so doing, also closes the open mouth of the mold I and prepares it to discharge, at the next revolution of the shaft, an oifice precisely similar to the one just described.

Duringthis movement of part 4 of the cam-table M, it being necessary that a smooth surface should be presented to the ascending brick as a guide, and to prevent its abrasion, the curve of part 4' of the cam L, which has moved simultaneously with part 4 of the cam-table M, has simply held in place, without forward or backward motion, the plunger J, until the vertical gate K has regained the position from which it started.

The shaft G has now completed a half revolution, and the action of the machine upon one side is complete.

As already explained, the other half of the machine is an exact duplicate of the half whose construction and method of operation have just been described.

It is only necessary, therefore, to say that another half revolution of the shaft G will also duplicate, upon the side of the machine not described in detail, precisely the same result as that just explained.

It is further to be observed that, if found desirable in practice, the same constructions may be applied to the other sides of the machine, and four bricks be produced at. one revolution instead of two. In such case the driving-power shaft, with its gear pulley, may be applied at one corner of the machine, or otherwise.

From the foregoing description and compayison with the original machine it will be seen that my improvements consist in employing the horizontal plunger to perform all the offices which in the original machine were performed by the horizontal and vertical plnngers combined, by which I am enabled to. dispense with nearly all the machinery necessary to their action, this being eii'ected by substituting the peculiarvshaped cam L to give to the horizontal plunger all'its motions in place of an eccentric, and in employing the cam-table M to lower and raise the vertical gates which open and shut the molds, in placeof the machinery which performed similar oflices in the original machine.

A further improvement is the method I employ to lubricate the molds at each expulsion of the brick therefrom.

It is further to be observed that, by the present arrangement of the cam and cam-table mounted upon the same upright shaft, they may be disconnected from the shaft and the machine then be used, if necessary, as a mill to pulverize and mix the clay ad -libitum, the other mechanism being at rest.

The molds opening upon the sides, and being straight slots, great facility is afforded for cleaning them.

I would remark that I am aware that it is not new to mix or temper clay with steam to render the for mer plastic prior to being introduced into molds; nor is it new to warm or heat molds by steam introduced into chambers contiguous to the molds; but the introduction of a jet of steam into each mold after the retraction of its plunger, and for the sole purpose of lubricating the mold, I believe to be novel.

Having thus explained the nature, advantages of my improvements,

What I believe to be novel and original with myself, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. The molds, formed as described, the peculiarshaped cam L, the horizontal plunger, and the vertical gates, when all'th'e said parts are constructed, combined, and arranged together in manner as shown and described.

2. The double-faced cam-table M, formed as described, in combination with the vertical gates and their stems, provided with two sets of guide-rollers, 0' r, as set forth, the whole being arranged and opcrating together in manner as shown and described.

3. The arrangement and combination of the peculiar shaped cam L, the horizontal plunger, the camtable M, and the vertical and described. I

4. The combination and arrangement of the molds, the peculiar-shaped cam L, the horizontal plunger, the cam-table M,'and the vertical gates, substantially as shown and described.

5. A steam -induction pipe, in combination with each mold, when so arranged as to introduce a jet of steam directly into the latter after each retraction of its plunger, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The hereinbefore-described machine for molding and pressing bricks, the same consisting of the hopper A, its orifices d d, and shaft G armed with knives,

and segmental wing c, molds I, I provided with a hori zontal plunger and vertical gates or covers It It, the said gates being operated by a cam-table, M, and the plunger by a cam, L, the whole being arranged with-- in a suitable frame and operating together as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DAVID JAMES HUNTER. Witnesses:

ISAAC Arms, E. B. Lonme.

operation, and

gates, substantially as shown

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