AN IMPROVED TIE TO BE USED IN FASTENING BALES OF COTTON AND ALL MERCHANDIZE TO BE PACKED AND TIED INTO BALES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Moses Paul Robertson, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, Merchant, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED TIE TO BE USED
IN FASTENING BALES OF COTTON AND ALL MERCHANDIZE TO BE PACKED AND
TIED INTO BALES."-A communication from abroad by Charles William
Wailey, Esquire, of the City of New Orleans, in the United States of
America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Moses Paul Robertson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd October 1866.
I, MOSES PAUL ROBERTSON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED TIE TO BE USED IN FASTENING BALES OF COTTON AND ALL MERCHANDIZE
TO BE PACKED AND TIED INTO BALES," a communication to me from abroad by
Charles William Wailey, Esquire, of the City of New Orleans, in the United
States of America, to be as follows:-
It consists of a plate, the same being of wrought iron, about one inch and
three-fourths square, and about one-eighth of an inch thick when intended to
be used with the ordinary inch-wide hoop iron commonly used for baling

page_text: cotton, with two lips or projections that are cut or thrown out of the plane of
the side intended to be placed next to the bale at such an angle as to sufficiently
make.two openings large enough to allow of the easy introduction of ordinary
hoop iron; these projections are marked B, B, and the openings a, a. None
of the metal being cut away, it follows as a necessary consequence that if these
projections were forced or driven back into their original or normal position
they would exactly fill the spaces originally occupied by them, and if a piece
of hoop iron were introduced into the opening before the projections were
driven back it would be
upon as though by a wedge, and be thus
held so firmly in its place that it could not by any possibility slip away or
slacken. The projections B, B, being thrown out of the plane of the plate A,
turn, as it were, upon a hinge point at b, where they are not separated from
the plate, the points of the said projections passing in being thrown out or
driven in through a small arc, hence it follows that a line drawn at right
angles or perpendicularly through the openings a, and touching the edge of
the opening from which the lips are separated, would be distant from the edge
or points of the lips about the thickness of ordinary hoop iron, and hence also
in the operation of applying the Invention to practical or actual use it is
requisite, in order to introduce the end of the band to which the "tie" is not
attached with any degree of facility, to bring the "tie" into the position as
shown in Figure 3.
The mode I adopt of attaching the hoop to the tie in the first placo is clearly
shown at C, Figures 3 and 4, and by virtue thereof the operation of bringing
the "tie" into the oblique position to receive the other end of the hoop is
rendered expeditious and easy, while the lip B prevents the short end from
raising up and drawing out, while the tie is drawn into the position shown in
Figure 2.
In the application of my tie to use, one end of the band is passed through
an opening from the reversed side to the projecting lips and folded back upon
itself, so as to securely attach it to the hoop, while the lip B prevents its
raising up, which would be its first movement preparatory to its pulling out,
which is shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4. The band is then made to encircle
the bale, and the. "tie" being placed in the oblique position, as already
explained and shown in Figure 3, the other end of the hoop, which is marked
D upon the Drawings, is introduced into the opening, and the slack of the
band being taken up the "tie" is brought into the position as shown in
Figure 4. The bale being now released from pressure, the expansive force
which is developed by the elasticity of the cotton at once comes into full play,

page_text: and forces the end D into a position substantially as represented in Figure 2,
and securely fixes the fastening.
What I claim as of the Invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent
is, the wrought-iron "tie "A when provided with projecting lips B, B, and
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Moses Paul Robertson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 3rd April 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MOSES
PAUL ROBERTSON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, Merchant, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant 'unto me,
the said Moses Paul Robertson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
Her special licence that I, the said Moses Paul Robertson, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Moses Paul
Robertson, 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 "AN IMPROVED TIE TO
BE USED IN FASTENING BALES OF COTTON AND ALL MERCHANDIZE TO BE PACKED AND
TIED INTO BALES," a communication to me from abroad by Charles William
Wailey, of the City of New Orleans, in the United States of America, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Moses Paul Robertson, 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 bo
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 Moses Paul Robertson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
The said Invention consists of a new and improved construction of wrought
iron buckle or tie for securing the ends of the hoop-iron bauds used in lieu of
rope in tieing and fastening the bagging of bales of cotton and all merchandizes
to be packed up, fastened, and tied into bales, which tie is so constructed as
that it is self-fastening, and possesses (among others) the following advantages
over any other tie hitherto in use for the same purpose. It is simple and may
be manufactured at a small cost. It is so easily applied that any ordinary
labourer may use it without much previous instruction. It clamps the ends
of the band so tightly and securely that the place where it is used is as strong
as any other part of the band, and no ordinary compression of the balo
resulting either from close packing in the hold of a ship or sudden jar or
concussion in landing the bale is likely to unlock or break its hold. The use
of this improved buckle or tie entirely dispenses with the necessity of the band
being perforated with holes, which perforations must injure the band to some
extent. The portion of the band where the improved buckle or tie is used
presents no projections likely to catch upon other objects.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed to describe the same more particularly, and for this purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, in each of
which the same letters of reference are used to indicate corresponding parts.
Fig. 1 represents the improved tie disconnected from the hoop-iron band,
and Figures 2, 3, and 4 represent the same connected with the band and in
the various positions it assumes in being applied to a bale.
The improved tie consists of a plate A of wrought iron, about one inch and
three-fourths square, and about one-eighth of an inch thick (when intended to
be used with the ordinary inch wide hoop iron commonly used for baling cotton).
From the plane of this plate A two lips or projections B, B', are cut and bent
out on that side of the plate A which is intended to be next the bale. These
lips or projections B, B¹, are bent out from the plane of the plate A sufficiently
far to allow of the easy introduction through the openings a, a, of the hoop-iron
band. None of the metal being cut away, except such as is necessary to make
the cuts themselves, it follows as a necessary consequence that if these pro-
jections were forced or drawn back into their original or normal position they
will nearly fill the spaces originally occupied by them, and if a piece of hoop
iron be introduced into the opening before the projections are so driven back

page_text: it will be pressed upon as though by a wedge, and be thus held so firmly in its
place as that it cannot by any possibility slip away or slacken. The pro-
jections B, B', being bent or thrown out of the plane of the plate A, turn, as it
were, upon a hinge at 6, 61, where they are not separated from the plate; the
ends of the said projections in being bent out from or forced back towards the
plate A pass through a small arc, hence it follows that a right line drawn
through the openings a, a', and touching that surface of the plate from which
the projections are bent, will be distant from the outer edges or ends of the
lips about the thickness of ordinary hoop iron, and hence also in the operation
of fastening a bale or other package with hoop-iron bands by means of the
improved tie it is requisite, in order to introduce with any degree of facility
the end of the hoop-iron band to which the tie is not attached, in the first
instance to place the tie into the position shewn in Figure 3.
The mode of using the improved tie in fastening a bale or other package
with a hoop-iron band is as follows:-One end of the hoop-iron band is passed
through one of the openings a from the reverse side of the plate to that from
which the projections or lips are bent; this end is then folded back upon the
band, and thus the tie is securely attached to the end of the band before the
band is placed round the bale or package to be fastened, as is clearly shown
at C, Figures 3 and 4, and by reason thereof the operation of bringing the tie
into the oblique position, as has already been explained, and is shewn at
Figure 8, to receive the other end of the hoop-iron band is rendered
expeditious and easy, and the lip or projection B prevents the short end from
rising up and drawing out while the tie is drawn into the position shewn on
Figure 2, as will be herein-after explained. The hoop-iron band is then
made to encircle the bale or package to be fastened while such bale or package
is in the hydraulic or other packing press, and the tie being placed in the
oblique position already explained and shewn in Figure 3, the other end
(marked D in the Drawings) of the hoop iron or band is introduced into the
other opening a', and the slack of the band having been taken up the tie is
brought into the position shewn in Figure 4. The bale or package being now
released from pressure, the expansive force which is developed by the elasticity
of the cotton or other goods being packed at once comes into full play, and
forces the end D and the tie into a position substantially as shewn in
Figure 2, and securely fixes the fastening.
Having now described and fully ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and

page_text: original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is, the wrought-iron tie A when provided
with projecting lips B, B¹, and openings a, a', as herein described, for the
purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Moses Paul Robertson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
MOSES PAUL ROBERTSON. (L.S.)