IMPROVEMENTS IN BALING PRESSES POR PRESSING COTTON AND OTHER SUBSTANCES."
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Whittome, of Walworth, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BALING PRESSES
POR PRESSING COTTON AND OTHER SUBSTANCES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Whittome at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th September 1867.
I, JAMES WHITTOME, of Walworth, in the County of Surrey, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BALING PRESSES FOR PRESSING COTTON AND OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as
follows:-
One of the objects of my Invention is to press the cotton or other matters
more quickly than heretofore, and to force it down the box in which it is
placed in such a manner as to bring the bale to near the bottom of the box,
so that when the pressing operation is finished the bale will be in a very
convenient position to receive the bands and remove the bale when bound.
I commence the operation of pressing by forcing down the cotton in the
box by means of a follower placed on the top and forced down by steam
pressure. In combination with this steam pressure I employ bydraulic power

page_text: to still further compress the cotton. The follower of the hydraulic cylinder
presses upwards the steam in the down stroke of the piston, performs the first
part of the pressure, and the hydraulic cylinder finishes the operation by the
up stroke of the ram which will give any pressure that may be required.
By this arrangement several of the working parts assist by their weight to
press the cotton or other substance to be pressed, and the length of hydraulic
cylinder is much shortened and expence of constructing the foundation and
erecting the press is greatly diminished.
The following are the principal features of novelty in the Invention:-
Placing above the box containing the cotton or other substance to be operated
upon a steam cylinder provided with a piston and follower which works in
the compressing box so that the dead weight of the follower and piston with
their appendages will materially assist in the first compression of the substance.
The follower of the steam cylinder having been driven down to a given point
will come in contact with a trip lever and catch and a valve on the steam pipe.
The trip lever will throw out from the side frame two or more bolts or blocks
which will act as stops to the follower and prevent it from rising while pressure
is being exerted from below to still further compress the cotton. By the
follower coming in contact with the valve on the steam pipe steam will be cut
off from the cylinder and the piston therein will be stopped, at the same
time an auxiliary engine which works the hydraulic ram will be set to work
and the ram will force up its follower and complete the compression of the
cotton which may then be bound up into bales and removed from the box.
It will be understood that the auxiliary engine for working the ram may be
employed to work the rams of two, three, or more sets of apparatus. The
follower of the steam cylinder may be so arranged as to strike against the
stem of the valve when it reaches a given point, and also to open the commu-
nication with the hydraulic ram to put on the pressure, and when the follower
of the hydraulic ram arrives at a given point it will cut off the water, by these
means rendering those parts of the machine self-acting. If preferred, however,
all these parts may be controlled by hand levers to be worked by the
attendants. The boxes in which the cotton or other substance is compressed
are arranged in pairs and are linked together; they are provided with running
wheels which are mounted on rails so that the boxes may be run in and out of
the machine when required. The removal of the boxes may be effected
either by rack and pinion gearing or by means of a plunger acted upon by
steam or water pressure. By this arrangement while the cotton in one box
is being compressed the other box may be filled.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Whittome in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th March 1868.
TO. ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WHITTOME, of Walworth, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send greeting...
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Whittome, Her special licence that I, the said James Whittome,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as. I, the said
James Whittome, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BALING PRESSES FOR PRESSING COTTON AND OTHER SUBSTANCES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Whittome,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Whittome, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
:
One of the objects of my Invention of "Improvements in Baling Presses
for Pressing Cotton or other Substances, is to effect this operation more
quickly than heretofore, and to force the material down in the box in which
it is placed in such a manner as to bring the bale to near the bottom of the
box, so that when the pressing: operation is finished the bale will be in a
convenient. position to receive the bands; and to be removed when bound.
I commence the operation of pressing by forcing down the cotton in the box
by means of a follower placed on the top and forced down by steam pressure.
After this I employ bydraulic power to still further compress the cotton, and

page_text: whereas the follower that has been acted on by the steam piston has been
pressing downwards, the follower of the hydraulic cylinder is made to press
upwards. The steam in the down stroke of the piston performs the first part
of the pressure, and the hydraulic cylinder finishes the operation by the up
stroke of the ram, which will give any pressure that may be required. By
this arrangement several of the working parts are caused. to assist by their
weight to press the cotton or other substance to be pressed, and the length
of the hydraulic cylinder is much shortened, and morcover the expense of
constructing the foundation of the machine and of erecting the press is greatly
diminished.
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1, Sheet I., is an end elevation of a
press constructed according to my improvements; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical
section of the same; Fig. 3, Sheet II., is a side elevation, one of the compressing
boxes being shewn in longitudinal section.
The box containing or to receive the cotton or other substance to be operated
upon is seen at a, a. A steam cylinder 6 provided with a piston c and
follower d (which works in the compressing box a) is mounted on suitable
standards e, e, above the compressing box, so that the dead weight of the
follower d and piston c with their appendages will materially assist in the first
In order to prevent the piston c
compressing of the substance in the box a.
from striking against either end of the steam cylinder guide rods d', d', on
either side of the cylinder pass through buffer boxes or cases shewn at d², d,
Fig. 3, and detached in section at Fig. 4. These rods are provided with
buffing blocks at each end, which at the end of the stroke of the piston either
up or down will come against the moveable heads of the buffer, and by com-
pressing the spring in the case will prevent any undue shock or jar. The
follower d of the steam cylinder having been driven down to a given point
by the pressure of the steam on the piston in the steam cylinder b rods or
tappets f, f, outside the cylinder will come in contact with trip levers and
catches g, which may be made to act on a valve on the steam pipe, and by
cutting off the supply of steam from the cylinder 6 will arrest the downward
motion of the piston and follower d. The trip levers 9 will by means of
rocking levers h and rods i, i, throw in from the side frame two or more bolts
or blocks j, j, which will act as stops to the follower d and prevent it from
rising in the compressing box a while pressure is being exerted from below by
mean's of the hydraulic press k and follower 1, which still further compresses
the cotton upwards. By the follower d or the tappet f coming in contact with
the valve on the steam pipe steam will be cut off from the cylinder, and the
piston therein will be stopped as already explained, and at the same time an

page_text: box a.
auxiliary engine which is arranged to work the hydraulic ram will be set to
work, and the ram will force up its follower and complete the compression of
the cotton, which may then be bound up into bales and removed from the
In order to bind up the bales while in the box doors are made in the
sides of the box so that by opening these doors access may be obtained to the
cotton; and the hoop. iron may be passed round the bales. When the pressing
operation is proceeding the side doors of the box are secured by means of strong
cross bars and clamps, which are tightened up by the screw, as shewn at a³,
Fig. 3. There is also a door. a* at the end of the box for releasing the bale
from end pressure previous to its being taken out at the side door when the
compressing and baling operations are completed. In order to give the box
sufficient strength at the part where it is cut away to receive the doors side
columns a, a, are employed. It will be understood that the auxiliary engine
for working the ram may be employed to work. the rams of two, three, or more
sets of apparatus. A rod connected with the follower of the steam cylinder b
may be so arranged as to strike against the stem of the valve when it reaches
a given point, and also to open the communication with the hydraulic ram k
to put on the hydraulic pressure from below. When the follower / of the
hydraulic ram arrives at a given point it will cut off the water. By this means
these parts of the machine will be made self-acting, but if preferred all these
parts may be controlled by hand levers to be worked by the attendants; for
instance when the follower d has been driven down by steam power as above
explained the steam may be cut off from the cylinder b by the attendant by
means of a band lever, and the rocking lever h may also be provided with a
handle, so that the attendant may be enabled to bring the blocks j, j, into
recesses made in the follower d, as shewn in the Drawing. A similar rocking
lever h with its rods i, i, is placed at the other end of the compressing box,
and is worked by means of a connecting rod n and lever m on a cross shaft
which extends across the compressing box. The boxes in which the cotton
or other substance is compressed are arranged in pairs, and are linked together
as shown at o, o, Fig. 3, Sheet II., in which one of them is shewn in longi-
tudinal section. They are provided with running wheels p, p, which are
mounted on rails q, q, so that the boxes a, a, may be run in and out of the
machine when required. The removal of the boxes may be effected either by
rack and pinion gearing or by means of a plunger or piston acted upon by steam
or water pressure, or in any other convenient manner. By this arrangement
while the cotton in one box is being compressed the attendants may be filling
the other companion box or boxes. When the cotton has been properly com-
pressed and bound round with hoop iron or bale ties the bale is to be removed

page_text: from the box through the opened hinged doors at the sides of the box a.
While the compressing operation is going on this door are secured by means of
strong screws a', a², as shewn at Fig. 3.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Baling Presses for
Pressing Cotton and other Substances, and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by
Letters Patent as aforesaid, the mode herein set forth of constructing and
arranging the several parts of the apparatus for compressing cotton, and
of applying the pressure of steam in combination with hydraulic pressure
to compress cotton and other substances into bales for more convenient
transport.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Whittome, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
JAMES WHITTOME. (L.S.)