US1757786A - Process of making bricks - Google Patents

Description

May 6, 1930.

PROCESS OF MAKING BRICKS Filed Jan. 23, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 L- J [Q1113 INVENTOR. %JW

. By v A TTORNE Y.

A. J. THERRIEN 1,757,786

A. J. THERRIEN 1,757,786 P ROCESS OF MAKING BRICKS May 6, 1930.

Filed Jan.,23, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fi .6 45 JJA-JQ) U HEP-14 I IINVENTOR. 36- 37\ A TTORNE Y.

UNITED STAT ARTHUR J. THERRIEN, OF NORTHBROOK, ELLINOIS ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL BBICK COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATZON OF ILLINOIS My invention relates to a process of making bricks, and it has for its prlnclpal ob ect to provide a new method by which theman-V ual handling of the bricks may be reduced to a minimum. By a process now in uise, the green bricks as th-eycome from the forming machine arepiled on cars into solid unit piles piles are four brick-lengths in width and in which the rows are separated by spaces two brick lengths in width. Afterthe placing of the unit piles in this arrangement by a power fork, itis necessary for a gang of workmen, equipped with the necessary extra green bricks, to repos tion by'hand a. cornparativeiy large proportion ofthe br cks on V opposite sides of the spaces between rows for arching over such spaces so that the next succeeding layer of unit piles may be supported by the spaced piles and the arches, the arched spaces or tunnels being utilizedfor applying the heat for burning the green bricks, all as is well understoodin the art.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a method of handling green bricks by reason of which the work of completing the arches transversely through the kiln may be very greatly reduced" To this end, it is one of the obj ects of my invention to provide for forming the arches or archedtunnels in the unit piles as such. piles are originally built up on the cars, the bricksbeing so arranged in such unit piles thatthe usual power fork may handle the pilein precisely the same way as is now done.-

It is another object of my invention to improve the arrangement of the green bricks in a kiln and the arrangement of the unit piles and arched tunnels so that the burning of the *ricks may be effected to better advanrnocnss or Maxine- BRICKS Application filed-January 23.1926. Serial No. 83,342.

tage,particularly by reasonof the fact that the distancebetween the successive'noz zles by which the heat is applied to the tunnels is decreased so that it is not necessary forthe heat to spread laterally so far from each nozzle. V

It is. another object 'ofmy invention to provide a new arrangementof parts by reason of which the turning of the arches manually to the slight extent still necessary in the practice ofmy improved invention may be effected much moreeasily and expeditiously than has heretofore been possible'gj a According-to the preferred meth d f .Plfi?" ticing, myinvention, the archesa re formed inthe hacks which are built directly upon the transfer cars. In this manner nearly allof the'arche's are formed with only one handling of the bricks, whereas, in the previous methods, the bricks were hacked in spaced piles, and then the piles were rebuilt and additional brickssupplied to form the arches over the topsof the tunnels. The construction of a kiln according to my, invention with "arches of only onebrick length in widtlnfiis wholly new" and hasbeen found to have, inherent advantages that mark my method of piling and burning as a striking advance in the brick inaking industry, inasmuch as the cost of 'makingthe brick is greatly reduced and the brick is more perfectly burned, especially at the sides of the fire tunnels.

' It is another obj ect of my invention to improve-in sundry details the method of making bricks as will be appreciated by reference to the accompanying drawings and the description thereofas hereinafter set forth.

That whicho-Ifbelieve to'be new and desireto V coverby claims.

In the drawingsp Fig. 1 is aside view, more orless diagrammatic, showing the arrangement of a unit pile of green bricks upon a car, Fig. 2 is a side viewof a powerfork'adaptedf-for'handling a'unit pile of green bricks Letters Patent is set forth in the such as that shownon the car in Fig. 1, the

upper end ofLthe fork; mechanism being shown in vertical section atthe middle of the fork for betterillnstrating the turn-table f 1 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view, being a sec- 1 layer of unit piles of unburned bricks in position in a section of a kiln, with a partial showing of the second layer. of unit piles, and a showing at one corner of a third layer of unit piles; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view showing a solid unit pile of green bricks in place in the middle portion of the kiln, with parts of two other unit piles adjacent thereto, the partial closing of the tunnel between two of the piles having been completed preliminary to the placing of the succeeding layer of unit piles thereon, while only a portion of the bricks have been repositioned for partially closing the space between the central pile and the third pile;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view for .illustrating the arched tunnels at the middle portion of the kiln, being substantially a section taken at line 6-6 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of a fragmentary portion of the bottom layer of unit piles in' a kiln illustrating diagrammatically an alternative method of placing such piles. V

The preliminary step in the practice of my invention .in its preferred form comprises hacking the green bricks as they come from the brick machine, or the forming machine, into unit piles upon cars such'as the car 15 illustrated in Fig. 1 having supporting wheels l6 thereon and having standards 17 at its opposite ends. In the unit} pile as illustrated in Fig. 1, all of the green bricks are placed on edge throughout the pile in slightly spaced relation so i that the combustion gases can pass therebetween. The bottom two layers of bricks are arranged in spaced relation to provide openings forthe entrance of-the tines of a Fig. 1 being provided for a power fork havingfourteen of such tines in equally spaced relation from one sideof the fork to the other side. The bottom layer of bricks are arranged in pairs, with suitable spaces between adjacent pairs, the bricks of the second layer being arranged directly above corresponding bricks of the first layer. Upon the upper edges of the bricks of the second layer, the succeeding layers are piled solidly three on three throughout theunit, except for the spaces left forprovidin'g the desired arches whichare designated by the numerals 18 and 19. .The portion of the unit pile 'or'the pier between the arches 18 and 1-9 is four bricklengths long, and each of the end portions of the unit pile is two brick-lengths inextent longitudinally of the pile and thus constitutes a half of a pier. The unitpile of Fig.1 is four brick-lengths in width, the several tiers of bricks being preferably arranged in the same manner as is indicated for the outside tier as shown in elevation in Fig. 1. The first of a kiln. I

power fork, the unit pile illustrated in transfer to' the kiln for two spaced layers are arranged regularly three on three. The next higher layer, however,is varied byplacing the bricks 20 in position to jut out overthe tunnels or spaces 18 and 19, so that the bricks 21 of the next higher layer are capable ofcompletely closing the tops of the tunnels 18 and 19. The top twolayers of bricks are laid solidly three onthree throughout the entire length of the unit pile. The loose bricks 22 are supplied atthe sides of the tunnel to fill the grip between the tines of the fork so that the bricks 23 maybe picked up, the bricks 22 being preferably removed by a workman when the unit pile has been placed in position on the floor I have found in practice that with a unit pile of bricks arranged as shown in Fig. 1, a fork 2 1 of approved form as now in use is capable oflifting the unit" pile bodily and placing it'in position on'the fioorof a kiln without disturbing the'arched tunnels 18 and 19 of the unit pile, the fact that eleven of the spaced supporting portions at the bottom of the pile instead of thirteen having no effect upon the operation of the'fork.

. The fork 24, as shown in igs. 2 and 3 is supported bylinks 25 from a turntable 26 supported by anti-friction bearings from a circular plate 27 which is adapted "to be connected by any suitable means with a crane there are only by which the fork and its load can be lifted and carried to any part of thekiln in con-V nection with which the fork is to be used. The fork comprises a plurality of tines or arms 28 projecting from a bottom cross bar 29 each ofthe tines28 being provided with a plurality of adjustable gripping plates 30 which are adapted to be closed together firmly upon the outer faces of a pair of bricks 31, as is best shown'in Fig. 3, the grip upon a series of spaced pairs of brickssuch as are illustrated at the bottom of the unit pile in Fig. 1 being such as to support the remaining bricks of the pile therefrom. Means is provided for' releasing the gripping plates 30 from thespaced pairs of bricks so as to permit the fork 2 1 to be slidout of'contact with the unit pile when the pile has been placed in position as desired. 1 As is well understood in theart, when the green bricks from the brick niachine have been placed in unit piles upon cars 15 such as that shown in Fig. 1, the cars with the unit plles thereon are pushed into one end of a drying shed where the bricks are given the desired drying treatment preparatory to their 7 burning. After a suitable drying has been effected, the cars areetaken'with their loads to a point adjacent to the kiln andthe unit piles are picked up by the setting placedinposition'in the kiln for burning.

In Fig. 4 I haveindicated a plurality'of fork24 one at'a time and unit piles as plaoedin position at each side of-the kiln, one section of which isshown in said figure. In Fig. 4 are shown a. considerable number of unit piles containing tunnels such as the pile illustrated in Fig. 1. Itwill be understood that the tunneled .gunit piles" 32 at. the outsideface of thekiln willfibe. placedin position first,jthe tork24 being pref erably withdrawn'tro-m the unit piles by movement towardthe center of the kiln. In the arrangement shown 1n Fig. 4, four unit piles are placed in position one. after another, with the arched tunnels 33- of one pile ill alignment with the arched tunnels 33 of the adjacent pile. After the piles are arranged along one side of the kiln four-deep as illustrated, alike arrangementoi'v unit piles 34 is placed in position at the opposite side of the kiln, such unit piles being also arranged fourdeep from theouter face. of the kiln toward the center, with the. arched tunnels .35 in alignment. Inasmuch as it WOL1ldl 6 impos- I lengths. The solid piles 36 are set bymeans siblefto slide the fork outof engagement with the unit piles it an attemptshould be made to 1 continue the placmg of the p1les 1nthelmanher ust. described, I employ a d1tlerent'eX nedient for rovidin the arched tunnels at .l.

the center of the kiln. I .When this stage is reached I hack on the cars 15 solid unit piles 36 of the samewidth asthe Width of the unit piles first described,-namely, tour brick of the same fork or setting device successively in position in alignment with the piers at either side, and with spaces therebetween corresponding to and registering with the tunnel spacesot substantially one brick length in span so that the completed tunnels extend continuously across theki'ln. At the end of the kiln, I place a solid unit pile 37, having a width of two brick-lengths to correspond to the size of the end portions of the unit piles adjacent thereto. a r v I In Fig. 5 I have illustrated 'a solid unit pile 38, a portion of a similar solid unit-pile 39 arranged adjacent to the pile 38'but separated therefrom by a space one brick-lengthin width, and a third solid unit pile 4O Tar ranged on the opposite side of the'pile 38 and similarlyspaced therefrom. The space between the piles 38 and 39 is indicated by the numeral 41 and the space bet-weenthe piles 38 and '40 isi'ndicated by thenumeral 42.. The piles'38, 39-and40 are representative of any three of the piles 36 of the arrangement shown in Fig. 4. I

' The above method ofpiling, thatis, from the sides inwardly, and then longitudinally downthe center, is particularlysuitable forv use with an overhead crane travelling longitudinally of the kiln floor for setting the piles or fork-hills of brick. Since the movement of the crane'is confinedto the space between the overhead. rails, which are placed on Qfihe posts rc iiinn T5 1W 1ii h r Pos ioned along either side ot the floonand it is desired to u ilize the spa etoth l st.- eXten space for withdrawing the forks from the pilesat either-side may-beleft at the center, which spa'ceisfilled by piles deposited; transversely and from which the :fork iswithdrawnlongitudinally. Obviously, the, transverse piles could be putin atone side instead ot.; i n the center, without departing from thespirit otthe invention, or if the withdrawal'space,

for the forks is provided for, in anothermanher, or is not required to be filled, the entire bottom. layer of thejcl'amp o tbricks in kiln may be set likethe piles 32and 34.

. After the unit piles 38, '39 dag have n arrangedin spaced relation as described, the

edge bricks of the'top layer at each'side 0t thespace betweenqthe unit piles are reairanged so as to jut outbeyond thetaces ofthe piles over the space between; the piles,

such jutting-out bricks being indicated in Fig. 5 by the numeral 43, all of the bricks along the space 41 having beenrepositioned for partially closingthe top of the space 41.

in said 5 to supportthe bottom bricks of the next courses an'dto prevent/the same from falling through into the tunnel- Only aportion of bricks '43 have been repositioned along the space 42, however, between the unit piles 38 an'd '40. In the preferred practice of my invention, when the bricks 43 are. slid outwardly'to'jut over .the spaces between the piles, additional bricks 44 are inserted in the of. the unit piles substantially flat and even.

After the unit. piles: 32,34, 36. and. 37 "have I been placed in position as illustrated and as above described, with the arched tunnels 33'and 35in alignmentlwitheaoh other and with the spaces between the unit piles 36' is placed in position, athird layerand any 7 desired number of; additional layers are' placed in position one upon another as is well understood in the art, such unit piles being indicatedby the numeral 46 in Figs. 4 and 6. 1 While I have described eachjlayer ot unit piles as being completed inisuccession before the next higher layer is started, it will be understood that: this has beenmerely tor fclears fi lu trat o In p a ticeith w r en spaces left vacant so .as tokeepthe top faces :llf

with a space 49 between the rows correspondingto the spaces 41 and 4520f Fig. 5. Succeeding rows of solid unit piles50 are then placed in position with aspace 51 between each two rows. The spaces 49 and 51 extend clear across the kiln, being employed in lieu of the arches before described comprising the arched tunnels 33 and 35 and the partially closedspaces 4Land42. The bricks of the top layer at opposite sides of the spaces 49 and'51 are then to be slid outwardly so as to extend a short distance over the spaces in the manner described in connection with the bricks 43 of Fig. 5. The next higher layer of unit piles canthen be placed in position in precisely the same manner, as-is described abovein connection with the arrangement shown in Figs. 5 and 6. VVhileI prefer to employ the method as outlined in connection withFig. at employing the two expedients for forming the transversely extending arched tunnels, I do not wish tolimit myself to the use of the two methods of forming such arches as distinguished from' using either of the methods exclusively to the extent that either of-such methods is available for effective use by itself for attaining the desired result.

Prior to my invention the practice has been to make the arches two brick lengths in width,

which has necessitated starting the jetting of the bricks at the fifth course. By my invention the jetting is only at the seventh or last course, and requires less labor and fewer extra bricks. more uniform than with .the old practice with V the wider arches, where it iscustomary to provide twenty-five arches for each million of brick. Now I use aboutthirty arches for each million of brick and obtain greater economy in labor, with muchgreater speed of construction,-and obtain much better results in the finished product. For example, it was previously necessary 1n setting the arches for the workmento handleabout four thousand bricks to the arch, while by my invention it is only necessary to handle about one hundred bricks for each arch. The-burning has been reduced from about 76 hours to about 48 hours because theheat penetrates through the kiln much'faster. r

The kiln of bricks produced by my method has arches extending therethrough from one 7 side to the other. After the usual sheathing with burned brick and scoving, or smearing with clay or brick-dust mixed with water to The setting and burning is also both ends. (This maybe accomplished with any suitable fuel,but I prefer to employ oil burners using steam or compressed air for the necessary atomization and toforce the fire into the arches to the center of the kiln.

- :I have found, as stated above, that with the narrower arches I can burn the brick at the lowest portion of the kiln more rapidly and thoroughly with less fuel. This is mainly for two reasons; first, becausemy process of stacking provides tunnels or arches which are closer together and the penetratin dis tance through the walls of the arches is decreased, and, second, because by the use of narrower arches the ratio of surface to volume of thearches or tunnels is very greatly increased. This can bemore appreciated when it is considered that'there are many more outlets in .the spaces between the bricks in proportion to the amount of flame in my narrower arches thanin the wide arches of the prior art. Also, it is easier to fill the arches with fire than was previously possible, and this can be done with less overburning and slagging of the bricks in the arches than has heretofore been possible. Although my invention is more especially intended for use in the production of common bricks, it is also adaptablefor making bricks of a higher understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details of the method as describediexcept so far as I may be limited by the claims,

inasmuch as it isv evident that departures mightwell be made from the practice as above described without departing from the spirit of my invention. 1

I claim: 7 '1. The process of setting bricks in a kiln which comprises forming a plurality of 'individual piles of unburned brick, each pile having a transverse archtherethrough, and assembling said piles with the arches in alignmen 2. The process ofsetting bricks into a kiln which comprisesforming a first plurality of LOO individual piles of unburned brick, each pilehaving a transversearch therethrough, assembling said: piles in two parallel rows with the arches in alignment, forming a plurality of solid piles of unburned bricks, setting said solid piles between. said rows with their adjacent edges in alignment withthe edges of the arches forme'din said first piles, jetting said solid piles to close the arches between them and then setting further solid piles upon the arches so formed. I

The process of setting bricks in a kiln which comprises forming a plurality of tun- 7 amazes njelledpiles, assembling said pilesw-ith-the tunnels in alignment, forming a. plurality of solid piles, assembling said solidpiles with the tunnelled piles-by setting saidsolid piles with parallel adjacentedges in align ment with the edges of the tunnels, andjetting said solid piles towards each other to form an arch.

l. The process of setting bricks in a kiln which comprises forming a plurality of in-' dividualpiles of unburned bricks, eachpile having a transverse arch therethrough of substantially one brick-length in width and assembling said piles with arches in alignment. 7

5. The process of setting bricks in a kiln which comprises forming'a plurality of individual piles of unburned bricks, eachpile having two transverse arches therethrough,

each of substantially one brick-lengthin width and separated by a pier substantially four brick-lengths in width, and each pile beingsubstantially ten brick-lengths long,

and assembling said piles with arches in alignment. V

6. The process of forming a kiln of bricks for burning which comprises piling 'unburned bricks on edge into'rectangular piles, each being ten brick-lengthslong, four bricklengths deep and having two transverse arches or tunnels each a brick length in width, forming a plurality of piles of substant ally the samedimensions and of the same height without arches; therein, assembling the tunnelled piles in contact with the arches in alignment at one side ofthe kiln floor, assembling the tunnelledpilesin contact wlth the arches in the same alignment at the other side of the floor, setting solid piles with their longer side in alignment with the opposite edges of the tunnels between the tunnelled piles, and jetting the top layers of the solid piles towards each other to arch the space between them.

7. The process of forming a kiln of bricks for burning which comprises piling unburned bricks on edge into rectangular p les, each being ten brick-lengths long, four bricklengths deep and' having twowtransverse arches or tunnels each a brick length in width, forming a plurality of piles ofsubstantially the same dimensions and ofthe same height without arches therein, assembling the tunnelled piles in contactwith the arches in alignment at one side of the kiln floor, assembling the tunnelled piles in contact with the arches in the same alignment at .the other sideof the floor, setting solid piles with their longer side in alignment with the opposite edges of the tunnels between the tunnelled piles and jetting the top' layers of the solid piles towards each other to arch the space between them, and setting a layer of solid piles over the tunnel containing layer previously formed.

8. Themethod of piling. bricks into a tunnelled-stack for handlingwith a fork which length in width above the omitted groups.

9. The process of makingbricksiwhich comprises stacking unburned bricks into. in-- dividual piles, each pile having a transverse arch therethrough, assembling the piles in contact with each other in a kiln with arches in alignment, superposing solid piles of unburned bricks upon said first pile to form 'a kiln and firing said arches to burn .the kiln.

10. The process of making bricks which comprises stacking unburned bricks into individual piles, each pile having a transverse I arch therethrough' of a width substantially equal to the length of one brick, assembling the piles in a horizontal layer in contact with each other and with said arches in, register,

superposing unburned bricks to form akiln and firing the. arches to burn the kiln.

, 11. The process of making common 'building brickswhich comprises setting unburned bricks in an open clamp kiln with substantially parallel transverse arches substantially a single brick lenthwide and of substantially uniform height throughithe bottom of the kiln andfiring fuel insaid'arches from each end to burn the kiln.

12. .The process of making building bricks which'comprises setting unburnedabricks into piles ten brick lengths long, four brick lenths deep and of a height in excess of seven brick widths, assembling a first layer of piles in rows separated by substantially one brick length, extending the bricks towards each other atthe upper facing edgesof the/rows of piles to define transverse firing arches, then setting a layer of piles in solid formation upon said rows over said firing arches, completing the kiln by further layers of bricks in solid formation, then firing fuel in said fire arches to burn the bricks in the kiln.'

13. Theprocess of making bricks which comprises setting unburned bricks into a V series of rectangular piles of, a-width of the order of four brick lengths, said rectangular piles being separated by firebox spaces of approximately one brick length wide, projecting the bricks at the upper adjacent edges of said piles out over said. spaces to partially bridge said spaces, setting brickin solid formationover said piles and spaces to complete a kiln, then firing fuel 'in said'fire box spaces to burn the bricks in the kiln. I

lfl'. The process of making 1 bricks which comprises setting unburned bricks-in the form of an open clamp kiln and leaving substantially parallel transverse openings of only one brick lengthin width and of approximately seven brick widths high throughout transversely through the kiln, then firing fuel into-both ends of said transverse openingsto burn the kiln. I

15. The novel method of' handling unburned bricks to form an open clamp kiln which comprises hacking the bricks directly upontransfer cars and simultaneously forming transverse arches through the hacks, then assembling the hacks with'their arches in alignment in a kiln. r

16. The novel method of handling unburned bricks to form an open clamp kiln which comprises hacking the bricks directly upon transfer cars and simultaneously forming transverse arches through the hacks, then assembling the hacks with their arches in alignment in a kiln, and firing fuel'in said aligned arches from eachend to burn the bricks in the kiln. j I

17. The method of making bricks which comprises setting unburned bricks in the form of an openclamp kiln with narrow arches only through the bottom of the kiln, said arches being of'a width of approximately one brick length and of substantially uniform height, then firing fuel in both ends of the arches to burn the bricks in the kiln.

18. The method of manufacturing bricks which comprises forming the green bricks, manually piling the greenbricks onto cars in oblong piles, during said manual piling of each pile forming transverse pick-up openings through the base oftheipile and forming a firing arch transversely through the pile,

drying the piles of bricks, pickingup the piles from the cars by alifting fork, setting 7 said piles of dried bricks] with their transverse firing arches in'alignment in'a kiln and firing fuel in said arches to burn the kiln.

19. The method of manufacturing bricks which comprises forming'green bricks, piling the green bricks onto carsin'oblong piles and V at the same time forming transverse pick-up openings through the base of each pile and a transverse firing arch through the body of each pile,, picking up the piles of bricks from the carsby a lifting fork in'- serted in said pick-up openings, settingthe piles with their transverse firing arches in alignment in a kiln andfiring fuel in said arches to burn the bricks in the kiln.

20. The method of manufacturing bricks which comprises forming green bricks, pil-. ing the greenbricks into unit piles and at the same time forming transverse pick-up openings through the base of each pile forthe insertion of a lifting fork and forming transverse firing openings through the piles, picking up the piles of bricks by a lifting fork inserted in said pick-up openings, setting the piles with their transverse firing openings in alignment'to form parallel firing arches in the base of a kiln, piling additional bricks upon thetops of the aforesaid piles to form a kiln, and firing fuel in said arches to burn and firing fuel in said arches to burn the bricks in the kiln;

; 22.11118 method of making bricks-which comprises forming green bricks in a brick machine,piling the green bricks as they come fromthe forming machine into unit piles of oblong plan with transverse arches there through, drying the piles, assembling the piles of dried bricks'withtheir arches in alignment to formthe base of a kiln, piling additional solid piles of bricks upon the base to complete the kiln and firing 'fuel in said arches to burn the bricks in the kiln. I v

I 23. The method of making bricks which comprises forming green bricks and as fast as' they are formed piling the green bricks into unit piles four brick lengths in horizontal thickness, ten brick lengths in horizontal thickness and" approximately nine brick widths high, and at the same time forming two transverse arches each of a single brick length in width through each unit pile, dry ing the unit piles, assembling the unit piles of dried bricks with their arches-in alignment to form the base of a kiln and firing fuel in said arches to burn the bricks in the kiln. p 24. The method of making bricks which comprises forming green bricks, as fast as they areformed piling the green bricks into oblong unit' piles with pick-up openings throughthe base of each pile and arched tunnels extending transversely through each pile, drying the piles, pickingup the unit piles and setting them together in a kiln with the'tunnels in alignment to form firing arches through the base of the kiln andfiringfuel in said arches to burn the bricks-in the kiln. 1 i

25. The method of making bricks which comprises 'formingunburned bricks, piling them into an open clamp kiln with parallel transverse firing arches therethrough of substantially one brick length in width and firing fuel insaid arches to burn the bricks in thekiln. W r i ARTHUR J THERRIEN.

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