IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO PRESSES FOR BALING PURPOSES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Eaton, of the City of Manchester, in the
: County of Lancaster, Smith and Wheelwright, for the Invention of
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Eaton at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th May 1862.
I, HENRY EATON, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Smith and Wheelwright, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS APPLICABLE TO PRESSES FOR BALING PURPOSES," to be as
follows:-
My improvements relate to that part of baling presses termed the "stillage".
which is commonly formed of a bed of wood faced with metal plate, and pro-
vided with grooves to enable the hoops or ropes to be secured round the bales.
As various sizes of bales are required to be made up in the same press, these
common stillages. have to be changed, and as many stiliages are required to
each press. as there are changes in the distance between the hoops or ropes on
the bales to be. made up. . Now, my Invention relates to a mode of con-
structing a universal stillage applicable to every size of bale or distance;

page_text: between the hoops to be placed upon the bales. It consists of a bed secured
to the press in the ordinary manner; this bed is faced with a plate of iron
which overhangs the bed at opposite sides, and is provided with a series of
slots for securing a series of ribs close against each other, so as to cover the
entire surface of the bed; buttons from the ends of the ribs enter the slots in
the
plates, being kept in their places by a catch or bar. With this improved
stillage each or any of the ribs can be removed or replaced, and the stillage
can be prepared for any size of bale by removing those ribs which will come
opposite those parts of the bale where the hoops or ropes are required, and by
replacing those which may have been previously removed. The mode of
securing the ribs may be modified, the ends may be secured in slots or grooves
without buttons or otherwise.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Eaton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th November 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
EATON, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Smith and
Wheelwright, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Henry Eaton, Her special license that I, the. said. Henry
Eaton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I; the
said Henry Eaton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 APPLICABLE TO PRESSES FOR BALING PURPOSES," upon the condition.
(amongst others) that I, the said Henry Eaton, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, 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.

page_text: six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Eaton, 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 and accompanying Drawings, that is to say :—
My improvements relate to that part of baling presses termed the "stillage,"
which is commonly formed of a bed of wood faced with metal plate, and pro-
vided with grooves to enable the hoops or ropes to be secured round the bale
when pressed. As various sizes of bales are required to be made up in the
same press, these common " stillages" have to be changed, and as many
stillages" are required to each press as there are changes in the distance
between the hoops or ropes on the bale to be made up. Now, my Invention
relates to a mode of constructing a universal "stillage" practically applicable
to every size or distance between the hoops or ropes to be placed on the bales
and it consists of a bed secured to the press in the ordinary manner, this bed
being faced with a plate of iron which overhangs the bed at opposite sides,
and is provided with a series of slots for securing a series of ribs close against
each other, so as to cover the entire surface of the bed; buttons or T heads
from the ends of the ribs enter the slits or slots in the plate, and are thus held
up, the ribs being kept in their places by a catch or bar. With this improved
"stillage" each or any of the ribs can be removed or replaced, and the "stillage
can be prepared for any size of bale by removing those ribs which will come
opposite those parts of the bale where the hoops or ropes are required and by
replacing those ribs which may have been previously removed. The mode of
securing the ribs may be variously modified, the ends may be secured in slots
or grooves or otherwise.
Fig. 1 shews a front elevation, and Fig. 2 a side elevation of so much of a
press as is necessary for shewing the application of my improvements. a is the
base plate of the press a¹; supporting columns to which the top of the press a³
is secured; b is the ram cylinder; 6', the table; c, my improved stillage secured
in the ordinary manner by the screws (a³) to the top of the press and against
such packing logs (a) as may be required. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal edge
view; Fig. 4 an end view; and Fig. 5 a plan view of my improved. "stillage
on an enlarged scale and detached. c is the bed of the stillage with a metal
plate e which overhangs the bed on opposite sides, but on one side about twice
as much as on the other side, these overhanging edges of the plate have slits
or slots (el and e³). cut in them, as shewn, at equal distances apart. The ribs
"

page_text: are marked f; and are made a little broader than the breadth of the hoops or
ropes which are to be used, and when they are all in their places they fit "close"
together as shewn in Fig. 1, and when in use such of them are removed as
come opposite the places where the hoops or ropes are required on thé bale,
leaving "gaps" as shewn in Figs. 3 and 5. The ribs shewn are made "of
suitable hard wood and are hooped with iron at each end, and have a T-headed
bolt (f) rivetted into the hoop at each end as shewn. In Fig. 6 an end, and
Fig. 7 a side view, of a part of a detached rib (half size) which also shews the
manner in which the T-bolt head enters the slit in the edge of the plate, and
is held by it. The ribs are put in their places by first entering the T-head
bolt at one end of the rib, in the long slit (e¹) in the plate (c), into which it is
pushed till the T-head of the bolt on the other end of the rib passes the
other edge of the plate, when the rib is drawn back, the head of the bolt
entering the short slit (e) and when all the ribs are in their places, a bar (9)
extending from end to end of the bed on the long slit (e¹) side, is brought
down between the heads of the bolts, and the side of the bed (c) as shewn;
which prevents the ribs (f) from getting out of their places. This long bar
(9) has two diagonal slots (9¹) formed in it, through which bolts are passed
into the edge of the bed (c), so that by sliding the bar endways, it is lifted
by the action of the bolts upon the diagonal slots, till it is above the T-headed
bolts; when the ribs are to be removed, it may be kept from falling down
when the ribs (f) are being adjusted, by a pin which may be placed in a hole
in the edge of the bed, so as to come against a vertical projection (92) from
the bar g. Of course it will be seen that narrower the ribs are made and
nearer the hoops or ropes may be brought to any required position, the breadth
of the rib determining the distances between the hoops or ropes, as when the
ribs are equal in breadth the hoops or ropes may be at a distance apart, made
up of the breadth of one or more ribs, but the distance cannot be a part of
"the breadth of a rib, but by having a few ribs, of say a breadth and a half with
the T-headed bolts fixed on one side as shown in Fig. 8 an end, and Fig. 9 a
side view, the distance between the hoops or ropes may be adjusted to any
length within half the breadth of the small ribs, and thus the stillage may be
adapted practically for any required distance between the hoops or ropes.
I prefer to make my improved stillages in the manner described, but they may
be made entirely of iron or other suitable metal or the ribs may be made of
iron and the bed part of wood.
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention and the mode
of carrying the same into effect and wish it to be understood that I do not

page_text: confine myself to the details, but claim as my Invention the construction,
combination, and arrangement of parts forming "stillages" for baling presses
substantially in the manner herein-before described and shewn in the accom-
panying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Eaton, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of November in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
HENRY EATON. (L.s.)