IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR EXPRESSING OILS AND OTHER LIQUIDS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Cook, of Old Kent Road, in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, and John Watson, of Victoria Chambers,
Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR EXPRESSING OILS AND
OTHER LIQUIDS."
Seiled the 9th July 1869, and dated the 14th January 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Cook and
John Watson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 14th January 1869.
We, THOMAS COOK. of Old Kent Road, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer, and JOHN WATSON, of Victoria Chambers, Westminster, m
the County of Middlesex, Engineer, lo hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR EXPRESSING OILS AND
OTHER LIQUIDS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists of certain novel and improved mechanical
arrangements and combinations constituting a press suitable for ex-
pressing oil from seed or other oil-yielding substances, and the following

page_text: is an example of the manner of constructing and operating a press
according to this Invention, that is to say-We form a deep but narrow
box with strainers of novel and peculiar construction (as herein-after
described) of the entire width and depth of the said box. To the bottom
of the aforesaid box we adapt a sliding or false bottom so arranged as to
he capable of being easily removed after the seed or other oil-yielding
substances have been sufficiently compressed to allow the compressed
residuary matters or cake to be forced out of the said box into a recep-
tacle below. Above the aforesaid box we place a steam cylinder of
considerable dimensions resting on two or more columns and fitted with
a piston of the ordinary kind, to which is fixed a piston rod or plunger
formed of a flat piece of steel or other metal exactly fitting into the
aforesaid box. The said piston rod or plunger works through a slot
formed in the cylinder bottom, and the said piston rod or plunger should
be so arranged that it can be passed into and through the aforesaid box
at the will of the operator. In connection with this cylinder we may
employ another and much smaller cylinder to be used separately from
the large cylinder for lifting the weight of the piston or plunger and
exerting the first pressure on the substance to be pressed and forcing out
the cake of residuary matters after the oil has been expressed therefrom.
We employ the large cylinder for exerting the final pressure on the sub-
stance, or if desirable we use the large cylinder only for performing these
operations. The strainers, which may be made in different ways and of
different materials, should invariably be the exact size of the box in
which they are placed, so as to form a lining for the sides of the same,
and in order that the piston rod or plunger may be an exact fit between
them we prefer to construct the strainers of a series of metal laths or
bars with a hole through each end thereof for connecting them together
by rods with screws and nuts on each end, the flat sides of the said laths
being in contact. A small groove is from end to end of each of the said
laths on both sides thereof near its front edge, so that when the several
laths are placed side by side, the groove in one lath coming opposite to
the groove in the other, a hole or channel is thus formed, in which we
propose to place a piece of yarn or other suitable fibrous material to act
as a filter for the oil or liquid and prevent any particles of matter not
liquid passing through the strainers.
An important feature of our Invention consists in exerting the
pressure on the edge of the bulk of substances to be acted on instead
of on the broad surface thereof as commonly practised, whereby the

page_text: cake is of the same thickness after it is compressed as it was
before, and this is effected by the use of a deep but narrow box
as before stated, and we would here remark that we do not intend
to limit or confine ourselves to the use of steam for exerting pressure
on the substance from which the oil is to be expressed, but reserve
to ourselves the right to use water or other motive power for that
purpose. The operations of a press thus constructed are as follows:-
The piston being at the top of the cylinder, the box is filled with seed
or meal; steam is then admitted at the top of the cylinder, thereby
forcing the piston or plunger into the box and expressing the oil from
the substance therein through the strainers into grooves formed in the
sides of the box; thence it passes along gutters or channels in the false
or sliding bottom before described, and finally to a suitable vessel or
receptacle. When all the oil has been expressed the pressure is taken
off and the false bottom removed, after which the pressure is again
applied to force the cake of residuary matters out of the box, and the
operations is repeated as before.
A modification of the above arrangement consists in making the box
in which the seeds or substances are compressed of annular form, that is
to say, & circular box having a central core, the seeds being compressed
in the annular space between the core and the box. The core we sur-
round with a strainer composed of metal laths arranged as herein-before
described, said laths being retained on the core by hoops at top and
bottom. Yarn or other fibre is placed between the laths as before-
mentioned, and suitable channels are formed in the core behind said
latha for the escape of the oil or other liquid. The circular core sur-
rounding the core is also lined with similar laths which, being wedge-
shaped, are retained in their places without other fastening in a similar
manner to the staves of a cask. In this case the piston rod or plunger
is provided with an aunular head exactly fitting into the annular
chamber or box for compressing the substances therein as before
described, the cake of residuary matters being removed by means of a
sliding false bottom as before.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Cook and John Watson in the Great Scal
Patent Office on the 14th July 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
Cooк, of Old Kent Road, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, and
JOHN WATSON, of Victoria Chambers, Westminster, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in
the thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Cook and John
Watson, Her special licence that we the said Thomas Cook and John
Watson, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we,
the said Thomas Cook and John Watson, our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR
EXPRESSING OILS AND OTHER LIQUIDS," upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said Thomas Cook and John Watson, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, 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 we, the said Thomas Cook and John Watson,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the two
Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures
marked thereon (that is to say):-
Our Invention consists of certain novel and improved mechanical
arrangements and combinations constituting a press suitable for
expressing oil from seed or other oil-yielding substances, and the
following is an example of the manner of constructing and operating

page_text: or more
a press according to this Invention, that is to say :-We form a deep but
narrow box with strainers of novel and peculiar construction (as herein-
after described) of the entire width and depth of said box. To the
bottom of the aforesaid box we adapt a sliding or false bottom so
arranged as to be capable of being easily removed after the seed or other
oil-yielding substances have been sufficiently compressed to allow the
compressed residuary matters or cake to be forced out of the said
box into a receptacle below. Above the aforesaid box we place a
steam cylinder of considerable dimensions resting on two
columns, and fitted with a piston rod or plunger formed of a flat
piece of steel or other metal exactly fitting into the aforesaid box
The said piston rod or plunger works through a slot formed in the
cylinder bottom, and the said piston rod or plunger should be so
arranged that it can be passed into and through the aforesaid box at
the will of the operator. In connection with this cylinder we may
employ another and much smaller cylinder to be used separately from
the large cylinder for lifting the pistou or plunger, and if desired for
exerting the first pressure on the substance to be pressed and forcing
out the cake of residuary matters after the oil has been expressed
therefrom. We employ the large cylinder for exerting the final pressure
on the substance, or if desirable we use the large cylinder only for
performing these operations. The strainers, which may be made in
different ways and of different materials, should invariably be the exact
size of the box in which they are placed, so as to form a lining for the
sides of the same, and in order that the piston rod or plunger may be an
exact fit between them we prefer to construct the strainers of a series of
metal laths or bars with a hole through each end thereof for connecting
them together by rods with screws and nuts on each end, the flat sides
of the said laths being in contact. A small groove is formed from end
to end of each of the said laths on both sides thereof near its front edge,
so that when the several laths are placod side by side, the groove in one
lath coming opposite to the groove in the other, a hole or channel is
thus formed, in which we propose to place a piece of yarn or other
suitable fibrous material to act as a filter for the oil or liquid and
prevent any particles of matter not liquid passing with the oil between
the laths.
An important feature of our Invention consits in exerting the
pressure on the edge of the bulk of substances to be acted on instead
of on the broad surface thereof as commonly practised, whereby the cake

page_text: is of the same thickness after it is compressed as it was before, and this
is effected by the use of a deep but narrow box as before stated, and we
would here remark that we do not intend to limit or confiue ourselves to
the use of steam for exerting pressure on the substance from which the
oil is to be expressed, but reserve the right to use water or other motive
power for that purpose. The operations of a press thus constructed are
as follows: The piston being at the top of the cylinder the box is filled
with seed or meal; steam is then admitted at the top of the cylinder,
thereby forcing the piston or plunger into the box and expressing the oil
from the substanco therein through the strainers into grooves formed in
the sides of the box; thence it passes along gutters or channels in the
false or sliding bottom before described and finally to a suitable vessel or
receptacle. When all the oil has been expressed the pressure is taken
off by raising the plunger slightly, and the false bottom being moved
into position the weight of the plunger is applied to force the cake of
residuary matters out of the box, after which the operation is repeated as
before.
A modification of the above arrangement consists in making the box
in which the seeds or substances aro compressed of annular form, that is
to say, a circular box having a central core, the seeds being compressed
in the annular space between the core and the box. The core we
surround with a strainer composed of metal laths, arranged as herein-
before described, said laths being retained on the core by hoops at top
and bottom. Yarn or other fibre is placed between the laths as beforo
mentioned, and suitable channels are formed in the core behind said
laths for the escape of the oil or other liquid. The circular box sur-
rounding the core is also lined with similar laths which, being wedge-
shaped, are retained in their places without other fastening in a similar
manner to the staves of a cask. In this case the piston rod or plunger
is provided with an annular head exactly fitting into the annular
chamber or box for compressing the substances therein as before
described, the cake of residuary matters being removed by means of a
sliding false bottom as before.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a sectional elevation of
our Invention as applied to a press, the box of which is of rectangular
form. a is the box or press provided with strainers 6 consisting of a

page_text: top to bottom of box a se as to form a lining for the sides of the same.
The laths 6 of which the strainers are composed are bound together by
means of rods a threaded through holes in the said laths 6 and secured
by nuts at each end, the flat sides of the lathis 6 being in contact as
seen. A small groove (, seen in Figure 2, which is a transverse section
of box a on an enlarged scale, is formed from end to end of each of said
laths & on both sides thereof near the inner edge, so disposed that when
the several laths b are placed side by side the grooves in each will
correspond and so form channels, as seen more clearly in Figure 3, which
is a part plan of the box or press a. In cach of these channels & we
place a piece of yarn or other fibrous material to act as a filter for the
oil or liquid which is forced between the laths the yarn proventing
any particles of matter not liquid passing through the strainers. e is a
sliding plato or false bottom placed below box a and brought directly
underneath to close the samo when pressure is applied to the matters
contained in said box. This sliding plate or false bottom e is provided
with an opening & corresponding to tho interior dimensions of the box a,
so that on said opening e¹ being brought beneath the opening of box
a tho residuary matters remaining after the expression of the oil may
be passed downwards through the plate e into a receptacle provided
therefor. The sliding plato e is operated to open or close the bottom of
box a by the aid of a hand lever f, or in any other suitable manner.
g is a cylinder supported on columns h communicating with a steam
boiler or other source of power at point x, as seen, said cylinder being
carried above box a on a suitable bed plate. The piston g' of cylinder g
(shown separately in side view at Figure 2, and in under side plan
at Figure 5) is provided with a plunger i, which works through the
bottom of said cylinder and exactly fits the aperture in box a. This
plunger i is so arranged that it can be passed into and through box a
at the will of the operator. j is a smaller cylinder used separately from
cylinder g and furnished with a suitable piston, the rod of which is
attached to the piston g'; this cylinder j is employed instead of the
large cylinder g for lifting the plunger i. After the substance in box
a has been compressed by the plunger i the residuary matters are forced
out through the aperture e' of the sliding plate by the weight of the
plunger i, the pressure having previously been removed by the aid of
cylinder j, as above mentioned, to permit of the plate e being brought
to the position shown in red lines, Figure 2. Tho piston g¹ boing in the
raised position shown in Figure 1, the box a is filled with seed (which

page_text: does not require to be previously hoated) by any suitable means, and
steam being admitted above the piston g', the plunger will be forced into
the box a and express the oil from the substance therein contained
through the strainers 6 into grooves formed in the sides of the box a
at the back of the strainers b. From these grooves k, which are inclined
as shown, the oil descends into gutters or channels / in the sliding
bottom e, and thence to a suitable receptacle provided for the purpose.
When all the oil has thus beon expressed, the weight of the plunger i
is applied to remove the residuary matters as before described, after
which the operation may be repeated.
A modification of the foregoing arrangement is shown in Figures 4,
5, 6, and 7, in which the box a is made of circular form and furnished
with a central coro a' so as to leave an annular space a² between the
outer box and the core in which the seeds are compressed. Figure 4
shows a vertical section of the annular arrangement; Figure 5 a plan
of the sliding bottom; Figure 6 a partial plan, and Figure 7 a vertical
section of the press on an enlarged scale. The core a' is surrounded
with wedge-shaped laths placed vertically and retained thereon by
means of hoops m placed at the top and bottom in a similar manner to
the staves of a cask, and yarn or other fibre is placed in the channels d¹
between the laths 6', as before described. Inclined or spiral channels ¹
are made in the core a¹ immediately behind the strainers b for the
escape of the oil, which descends into a circular gutter or channel n
formed in the support o of the central core a¹, from whence it is
conveyed by pipes p or other suitable means to a receptacle provided
therefor. The circular box a is also lined with wedge-shaped laths b
placed vertically, which are retained therein without fastening owing to
their wedge form. Spiral channels are also formed in the box a
behind the strainers 6 to receive the oil when expressed through said
strainers. is a hollow cylinder attached to the rod of piston g' so aз
to form an annular head or plunger exactly fitting into the annular
space between the strainers 6 and 6 in which the substances are
compressed, as before described in reference to the previous Figures. e, e,
are two sliding plates, together forming false bottom, serving to close
the annular box a. Each plate is provided with a suitable lever
handle for withdrawing it from beneath box a, and so allow the
residuary matters to pass down as before mentioned into a receptacle
provided for the purpose, Channels or gutters are also formed in the
.

page_text: surface of sliding plates e for the purpose of receiving the oil from the
inclined channels / and conveying it to its propor recoptacle. Yarn or
fibre is also placed in this case in the grooves in the laths made for its
roception to arrest any solid matter and prevent its being carried into
channels & by the oil. Instead of forming the strainers of laths 6 and 6¹
placed vertically as shown, we may construct each set of a series of flat
rings placed horizontally' one on the other and bolted together if
required by vertical rods and nuts. The smaller series of rings b¹
would fit on and surround the core a', while the larger series 6 would
form a lining for the box a with an annular space between in which
the seeds are compressed, as above described. By exerting the pressuro
upon the edge of the bulk of the seeds or other substances (instead of on
the broad surface thereof) in the manner herein-before described and
shown in the Drawings, the oil is expressed with much greater facility
and consequently with much less pressure than hitherto.
Having described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, wo declare that what we claim as our Invention
to bo protected by the herein-bofore in part recited Letters Patent is,—
1st. The improved construction of press for expressing oil and other
liquids from seed or other substances arranged and operating substantially
as described and shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying
Drawings,
2ndly. Wo also claim the modified arrangement of press shown in
Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the Drawings.
Brdly. We claim the novel construction of strainers herein.before
described and illustrated in the Drawings annexed together with the
modifications of the same.
In witness whereof, I, tho said Thomas Cook, for myself and on
behalf of the said John Watson, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.