USRE1668E - vebvalext - Google Patents

Description

` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

R. A. VERVALEN, OF -HAVERSTR-AW, NEW YQRK.

BRICK-MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters'Patent No. 9,082, dated June 29, `15352; Reissue No. 1,668, dated May 1o, 1864.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, R. A. VERVALEN, of Haverstraw, in the county of Rockland and State of New York, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Presses or Ma chines for Making Bricks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which* Figure l-is afi-ont elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, the-side of the box or case nearest the eye being removed. Fig. 3 is a plan or top view of the feeder and levers, showing the manner in which the feeder is operated, as also the vibrating bar which has the same motion as the. Fig. 4 is a backl feeder and is attached to it. view in elevation of the feeder and vibrating bar, showing the manner in which the'feeder is attached to the vibrating bar.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several figures.

The nature of my invention consists, first, in a means for varying the stroke of the plunger or follower,and therebyr producing a greater or less pressure of the plunger or follower upon the clay, according to its consistency or temper 5 second, in the use of a lever arranged in connection with the drivingcrank of the plunger or follower-rod in such a manner as to insure the discharge of the filled molds at the propertime; third, in the use of cranks, rods, and levers arranged as will be hereinafter described, and driven from the main motion, for the purpose of operating the feeder and vibrating bar, the feeder forcing the clay in the molds and the vibrating bar forcing the mold underneath the press to be filled, and out from it when filled, as will be hereinafter fully shown fourth, in the use of a spring attached and arranged in such a manner that any obstructing substance in the clay, impeding the motion of the molds, will not cause damage to or break the working parts or front plate of the press, which latter may be made removable at pleasure; fifth, the attaching together the feeder and vibrating bar so that they have simultaneously thesame motion, the vibrating bar having a guide-rod working through bearings or other equivalent device, in combination with an adjustable stop by ywhich the molds may be placedproperly on the bed in front ofthe vibrating bar.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe fully its construction and operation.

A is a case or box having a vertical shaft, B, driven by horse, steam, or other power. The case orbox may be constructed asordinaryfclay or mud mills, and the shaft B is provided with the usual blades or arms for Working the clay. The arms are not repre sented, as they are well known and commonly used.

C is a connecting-rod at the bottom of which is attached the plunger or follower D. The `plunger' or follower is worked by a crank, a, said crank being at one end of the horizontal shaft E,and attached to the upper end of the connecting-rod. (See Figs. kl and 2.) The horizontal shaft E is driven by a bevel-wheel, F, on the vertical shaft B, working into a bevel-pinion, G, on the horizontal shaft E.

His a lever having step projections b L2, (seen more particularly in. Fi g. 1,) and workin g on a fulcrum, c, on the connecting-rod C. Ther e is a slot in the connecting-rod, as seen in Fig. 2, in which the lever H may work. The plunger or followernis connected to this connecting-rod by a rod, C', the upper part of which is flattened and vfits in the slot in the lower end of the connecting-rod G. (Seen more particularly in Fig. 2.) The flattened or upper end of the rod C' has a slot through'it,'(see dotted lines in Fig. 1,) and through this slot a pin, d, passes, the pin d passing through the connecting-rod (l. Now, by turning the lever H a greater or less stroke may be given vthe connecting-rod, as will be readily seen.

it' the endj'of the lever H beV For instance, turned ont ofthe slot in the lower end of the connecting-rod C, as seen in Fig. l, the stroke will be comparatively short, because the plunger or follower D cannot be forced down until the opposite end e of the lever H comes in contact with the upper surface of the rod C', and the connectingrod C is pressed down some distance and also raised up as the crank c revolves before the eonnectingrod C acts upon the rod C', the plunger or follower being raised when the pin i reaches the upper part of the slot in the flattened or upper end instance, if the lever H were turned a little farther downward than is represented in Fig. l, till thefirst step, b', is within the slot in the lower end of the connecting-rod C, a little greater stroke will be obtained and a corresponding increase of stroke if b2 is within the slot, and so on.

It will be understood that with an increase of the length of stroke a greater pressure of the plunger or follower on the clay is obtained, and this is desirable, for clay requires a greater or less pressure according as it is tempered, and the correct pressure may be obtained in a moment of time while the machine is in operation by the operator moving the lever H.

I J are two levers or cranks on the horizontal shaft E, placed at right angles to each other. (See Fig. l.) These levers have pins g g projecting from them near their outer ends, and as the levers revolve with the horizontal shaft E these pins catch or bear against shoulders hh on the rods K L. (Seen more particularlyin Fig. l.) One end of the rod K is attached by apivot to the upper end of a vertical lever, M,having its fulcrum at i. (See Fig. l.) One end of the rod L is attached by a pivot to the upper end of the small lever N, having its fulcrum at j. Now, it will be seen that as the horizontal shaft E revolves the levers I J operate the rods K L, and these rods give the vertical lever M a vibrating motion, the rody K drawing the upper end of the lever M toward the case or box A, and the rod L throwingit out, the lower end of the small leverN acting against the lever M, it being understood that the pins g g upon the levers I J are relieved from the shoulders h h on the rods K L, Fig. l. This vibrating motion of the lever M operates the feeder and vibrating bar. lI will proceed to explain this:

O is a horizontal rod attached by a pivot to the lower end of the lever M. The outer en'd of this rod is attached to a lever, I), (see Figs. 3 land/1,) which is connected to asmall upright shaft, R, and to this upright shaft there is a lever, S, the end of which is attached to an upright or stud., lr, which is connected to the feeder T and vibrating bar U, (see Fig. 4,) the stud k passing through a slot in the end of lever S, (see dotted lines in Fig. 3,) to allow for the curvilinear motion ofthe end of the lever. Now, it will be seen that by the arran gement of the levers I S, rod O, and upright R a horizontal reciprocating motion is given to the feeder and vibrating bar.

The feeder T vibra tes or moves on a portion ofthe bottom of the box or case A, (see Fig. 2,) and shoves the clay into the press-V as it is moved toward the other portion of the bottom of the case is inclined. .lhe front plate of the feeder is hung by pivots on its upper part, so that when the feeder is drawn backward the front plate will raise and not draw the clay back with it. When the feeder is shoved forward the front plate will of course fall and press the clay' forward into the press. The feeder is connected to the vibrating bar by the standard l, (see Fig. 4,) and also by the upright or stud 7c. The vibrating bar is for the purpose of shoving the molds underneath the press to be filled with clay by the plunger or follower. It also shoves them out from underneath the press when filled, as'v will be presently seen. Thefvibrating bar works underneath the bottom of the case or boX A, as seen in Fig. 2, and has a guiderod, on, Fig. 2, which works through bearings n a.

The levers I J must be placed on the horizontal shaft E in such a relative position to the crank a that the clay may be forced into the press underneath the plunger and the vibrating bar throw ont the mold from underneath the press V. The molds (see dotted lines in Fig. l) are placed on the bed WV through an opening, p, in the side of the box or ease, (see Fig. 2,) and directly7 before the vibratingbar. When the vibrating bar is shoved forward the mold is forced underneath the press, and when it is moved backward another mold is placed through the openingp and in front of the vibrating bar, which, as it is moved forward, causes the fresh mold to throw out the mold that was formerly put before it andthe fresh mold remains under thepress till the clay it contains is pressed by the plunger, it being understood that the plunger is depressed while the feeder and vibrating bar are thrown back. There is another item to be explained, and that is the method by which the return or back motion is given the feeder and vibrating bar. Itis of course seen that this is accomplished by the rod L and small lever N, but it must be borne in mind that the lower end of the lever N bears upon the vertical lever M at the point nearer the fulcrum than the pivot or point of attachment of the rod K; consequently the return or back motion of the vibrating bar will be quicker than the forward motion. This is necessary in order to allow the operator time to place the molds on the bed. The arrangement or manner in which the levers I J are placed on the horizont-al shaft E also causes the vibrating bar to stop a short time when back because when the pin g on the lever I is relieved from the shoulder h on the rod L and the vibrating bar thrown back the lever J has to make halfa revolution before it acts upon the rod Kand the vibrating bar is thrown forward.

X is an adjustable stop attached to one end of the vibrating bar. (See Fig. 2.) This prevents the molds from being placed improperly on thebed. This stop may be adjusted so as to suit different-sized molds or those of different lengths. Being attached to the vibrating bar, it moves with it, and consequently the molds are not bruised or worn by friction, as is the case where the stop is attached to some portion of the bed. The stop is merely a ledge or projection set out at a right angle from the face of the vibrating bar, and the ends of the molds' are placed against it when put on the bed. The stop may be shifted or moved by set-screws or. by any other equivaare attached to the vertical lever M. (See Fig. 1.) r r are two small rods connected or hooked together and resting on or against the outer surface of the spring, as seen in the figure. The ends of the rods are secured to the lever. The lever M is divided and connected by a hinge-joint, Z, a-nd the lower rod r is attached to the lever M below the hinge Z. Now, if any obstruction such as astone for instance-should be in the clay and be forced in the mold, the stone being sufliciently high or-large to prevent the mold from being forced out from underneath the press V by the vibrating bar, the strain will act hard upon the lever M or other parts of the machinery, because the spring Y, byits elasticity, will give or yield, and sufcient warning will be given the operator to remove the obstruction, which may be done by stopping the motion'or raising the front plate of the press.

The usual method of feeding the clay in the press is by scrapers or arms attached to the vertical shaft, the scrapers resting on the bottom of the case or box. The disadvantage of this arrangement is the feed is not regular, or the clay is forced into the press at wrong times; it isjust as likelyto be forced-into the press when the plunger is down as when it is up. This disadvantagel have obviated, as has been shown. I am also, by employing the lever Il, enabled to give the clay the proper pressure, according to its consistency or telnper, and by the use of the spring Y the breaking of the working parts of the machine is prevented in caseot' any obstruction. The method also of working the feeder and vibrating bar is simple and eiiicient, time being given the operator to insert the molds before the vibrating' bar is moved forward.

I dol not claim the plunger or follower operated by a connecting-rod and'crank, as that through an oblong slot in the other, or other equivalent means, in combination with the lever H, provided with step projections b b2, or any other device which will serve as a stop to control the play of the part connected with the driving-crank and regulate the pressure of the plunger or follower upon the clay in. the-molds, as set forth.

2. The lever M, connected with the molddischarging device and with the driving-crank a of the plunger or follower-rod in such-a manner that the filled mold will be discharged from the device while the plunger or follower is rising, and this I claim in connection either with the lever N or any other means for giving the return movement to the mold-discharg ing device.

3. The arrangement of the levers I J N, rods K L, vertical lever M, and the rod O with the levers l) S and upright shaft It, for the purpose of operating the feeder T and vibrating bar U, substantially as set forth. y

4. The employment or use of the spring V, attached to the vertical lever M, and operated upon by the rods r r, attached to the lever,

Vwhereby the working of the machine is prevented by any obstruction, as described.

5. The attaching together of the feeder T and vibrating bar U, the vibrating bar having a guide-rod, fm, working in suitable bearings, n fn, or arranged in any other suit-able way.

R. A. VERY/TALEN. Witnesses:

J. It. HALL,

GEO. W. REED.

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