Untitled record

Application filed January 21,1895. Serial No. 535,745. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,·· ’

Be it known that I, FRANK’S. SLATTERY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bradford, in the county of McKean and State of -5 Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Sifting Pulverized Clay, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of maio chines used for sifting pulverized-clay shale preparatory to pressing it into bricks under the dry-press process.

The object of my invention is to provide a screen that will be economical in its construci5 tion, easily and cheaply repaired; one that will not clog up when in use and that will thoroughly separate the tailings from the finer portion of the pulverized clay, and with which the size of the screened particles can 20 be varied at the will of the operator of the machine. I attain this object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which— • Figure 1 represents a top view of my mass chine. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation.

Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of the screen, the feeding-chute,the driving mechanism,· and the outside shell, which is shown in cross-section. Fig. 4 represents a cross-sectional view 30 of the screen and its connections, as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represents a side elevation of the funnel which is secured to the shaft and supports the screen. Fig. 6 represents a bottom view of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 represents a side 35 elevation of the funnel and shows a pair of screen-bars, one of which is bolted to one of the outside ribs of the funnel. The other is shorter and rests on top of the rib and is bolted to the longer bar. It also shows the adjoin40 ing edges of two sections of screen held securely between them. Fig. 8 represents one of the sections of screen.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Numeral 1 is the screen-shaft, provided with the foot-box 2, which is secured thereto by the set-screw 3.

is a grooved flange provided with antifriction-balls 5, on which the foot-box 2 has its 50 bearing.

) 6 is a journal-box, which supports the screenshaft 1 and in which the shaft 1 revolves.

• 7 'is a bevel gear-wheel in which meshes the pinion 8 on the drive-shaft 9.

; 10 is a funnel provided with the cross-bar 55 11 and collar 12, which latter is secured to the shaft 1 with a set-screw or its equivalent. It is also provided with the ribs 13 and the annular flange 14, which fits into the elbow 15 of the tailings-chute 16. 60 ! The elbow 15 is provided with a stuffingbox 17 through which the shaft 1 passes. Tlie object of the stuffing-box 17 is to prevent a leakage of the tailings through the shaft-orifice of the elbow 15. 65 ’ To the ribs 13 of the funnel 10 are bolted the bars 18, and to the bars 18 are secured the bars 19, which rest on top of the ribs 13. Between these bars are placed the side edges of the screen-sections 20. In the drawings 70 the screen is represented as consisting of eight sections, which I consider the most practical number for the purpose intended. The object of having the screens made sectional is to be able to more readily repair them when 75 Worn and at a small cost, as a section can be replaced with but little labor and at One-eighth the expense that would be incurred if the screen was made of one entire piece.

: '21 is the feeding-spout, provided with the 8c slide 22 for the purpose of regulating the supply of the pulverized clay to the machine. 23 is a funnel-shaped casing surrounding the screen for the purpose of receiving the screenings and guiding them into the delivery-chute 85 24. 25 is a rim consisting of a series of wooden cants of one or more courses supported by the standards 26, which are preferably of pipe. To the rim 25 is secured by bolts or otherwise the upper flange of the funnel- 90 shaped casing 23.

In the operation of my machine the pulverized clay is fed through the chute 21, the quantity being regulated by the slide 22, the screen being revolved by the pinion 8 on the 95 shaft 9, which is driven by the pulley 27. The quality of the bricks manufactured depends greatly on the minuteness of the particles of the clay composing them—that is, the finer the screenings are the finer and 100

543j221 smoother the face of the bricks will be and the higher will be their merchantable grade, and the coarser the screenings are the coarser and rougher will be the face of the bricks and 5 the lower will be their grade. As the market demands high, low, and intermediate grades of brick, I have constructed my machine so that the size of the particles screened may be varied according to the desire of the operator of the io machine. Thus by revolving the screen slowly the pulverized elay sifts through the screen by gravity, the finest portion passing through the meshes, the coarser portion falling in almost a perpendicular line with the feeding15 chute 21 into the funnel 10 and thence into the tailings-chute 16. By increasing the speed of the machine so that a slight centrifugal power is exerted on the pulverized clay the siftings will be somewhat coarser. As the 20 screen increases in speed the greater will be the centrifugal power and the coarser the siftings until the particles are as large as the meshes are capable of passing, thereby making a screen with one size of mesh serve for 25 sifting several sizes of screenings.

The circumference of the top of my screen is about twenty-seven feet, and the pulverized clay discharged from the feeding-chute either passes through the screen or down through the 30 tailings-chute before a revolution is made, leaving the portion of the screen presented to the mouth of the feeding-chute always clean and free from pulverized clay.

My machine can be used in an inverted 35 form with the ribs and bars placed on the inside of the funnel and screen, the screen slowly revolved and the sifting done by gravity, the tailings being received in a trough at the base of the machine, but from 40 actual tests made I prefer the screen set as shown.