ENSILAGE STACK PRESS
Year: 1884

page_text: I CUTHBERT GREENWOOD JOHNSON (Gentleman) of Oakwood Croft_Darlington
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for ENSILAGE STACK PRESS to be
as follows:
Namely beams marked A on accompanying plan are placed on each side of tho
stack made of wood iron or other material and of such shape & dimension as
suitable according to size of the stack-Wire rope hoop iron or other suitable
bands B are then placed over the stack at short intervals & attached at each end
to said beams-A length chain C is attached to the under side of each of the
beams A & is taken hold of by a screw pulling jack or hydraulic pulling jack shewn
on the plan herewith as a crew pulling jack D the nut of which E is held down to
the beam F (which may be made of wood iron or other suitable material) by the
bolts G on which the said nut is allowed to rock the extremities of the nut being
rounded so as to pass thro eyes formed in the upper end of the bolts G the beam F
passes under the stack & laid upon it transversely are logs of wood H to enable it
to have sufficient hold of the stack so that when the pulling jack D is tightened
the stack is squeezed between it & the bands passing over the top-After the
screw has been tightened to the full downward extent of its travel a pin is inserted
between the links of the chain on the under side of the guard I which is attached
to the rounded end of the nut E & rocks thereon the guard & the screw can by
this means accommodate to the angle at which the chain pulls the weight having
been taken by the pin acting against the guard the jack can be screwed up again
& take a fresh hold, the action being repeated until the stack is deemed sufficiently
under pressure the screws may be turned by ratchet brace, bar in a hole, a spanner
or other suitable means-I prefer to make the beams A round so as to enable the
bands B to be easily coiled around them to shorten their length when used to press
the stack before it has attained its full height-The pulling Jack D can be removed
& employed for more than one stack the pressure being meantime borne by the
guard I-If it is desired to press on one side of the stack only a pully J may be
fixed to one end of the beam F the chain on that side passed under it beneath the
stack, under pully K & upwards thro a crosshead L resting on a pushing screw
or hydraulic jack M the other chain passed under pully N is also led up thro the
cross head L the jack pushing in an upward direction tightens the chain & the
action can be repented by inserting a pin in the links of the chain resting against
the upper side of the guard O to maintain the pressure whilst the jack takes fresh
hold.

page_text: :
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I CUTHBERT GREENWOOD JOHNSON of Oakwood, Croft, near Darlington do
hereby declare the nature of my invention for ENSILAGE STACK PRESS and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to an improved ensilage stack press, the object in view
being to effect the requisite compression of the crop in stacks, while retaining or
giving a peaked, rounded, or arched top to the said stacks.
To this end my invention consists in the use of a wire rope or ropes, or equi-
valent strong and flexible bands, passing across the stack from side to side, and
tightened upon by tension apparatus of any suitable kind, anchored or suspended
on opposite sides of the stack. I preferably secure this flexible open wire work, or
lacing, upon each side of the stack to a beam or girder attached by suitable means
to the tension apparatus, so that a number of separate wire ropes or bands, or the
several laps of a single wire rope or band, may be simultaneously tightened upon
the stack to compress the crop, but the same result might be obtained with fewer
bands or laps of wire rope by laying beams or bars of wood or iron at intervals
upon the sloping top or roof of the stack, and transversely beneath the wire rope or
its equivalent, and connecting the ends or laps of the said rope or ropes directly to
the screw jack or other tension apparatus used.
The nature of my Invention will be more fully understood on reference to the
accompanying Drawing in which
Fig 1 is a side elevation and
Fig 2 a cross section of a peaked stack, with my improved compressing apparatus
applied thereto.
Figs: 3 are detail views of a hook or horn plate for securing the ends or laps of
the rope or ropes to the side girders or beams; and
Fig 4 is a diagram end elevation on a reduced scale of a stack with gable roof
compressed by wires or bands bearing on beams or bars laid at intervals upon the
sloping top of the stack transversely to the said wires or bands.
The same letters of reference indicate like or corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
a a a represent laps or lengths of wire rope passed over or laid across the
peaked top of the stack at frequent intervals, and secured on each side thereof to
angle iron girders or beams bb, connected by screw rods, chains, or tackle of any
suitable kind, with tension devices c c. one on each side of the stack, the said
tension devices being anchored to a beam a passing beneath the stack, or to blocks
of concrete or stone resting on or embedded in the ground.
I might use separate wire ropes, chains or bands of hoop iron formed with an
eye at each end adapted to be attached to hooks on the beams b b, but I preferably
use a single wire rope, one end of which is fast to one of the beains b and which is 4
then laid or lapped from side to side across the peaked or sloping top of the stack
over books pulleys or horn plates e e bolted or rivetted to the said beams or
girders b b. One of these horn plates is shown detached on a larger scale in
Figs: 3 in front elevation and cross section respectively. When this lacing of the

page_text: wire rope across the top of the stack is completed the free end of the rope is made
fast to a cleat fat the end of the beam b, and the tension apparatus may then be
worked to compress the crop in the stack.
The stack may be thatched, if thought necessary, either before or after the
lacing of wire rope, or its equivalent, is passed across the stack; but when I thatch
I prefer to do so after the compression of the stack has been effected according to
my invention.
A convenient form of tension apparatus is shown in Figs 1 and 2, and consists
of a screw threaded rod g working through a correspondingly threaded nut g¹ or
crosshead, carried in or by a hollow frame or support h, rigidly secured to the angle
iron girder or beam b, midway of its length, and strengthened by suitable stay
rods h¹h on either side.
The lower end of this screw passes freely through a hole in a crosshead or eye k
firmly anchored to the cross beam or its equivalent d, and is formed with a head
which prevents its passing out of the said eye k but which permits of its rotation
therein after the manner of a swivel.
The screw has a boss on it with a hole for the insertion of a lever bar at a con-
venient height above the ground, and thus the screw rod can be worked round and
the nut g¹ and frame h be drawn down, and with them the angle iron girder or
beam b, thereby tightening the ropes a a a over the crop, and compressing the latter
while retaining the peaked or gable form of top, as shown in Fig 2.
To prevent the crossbeam & cutting into the stack when the screws or equivalent
tension apparatus on each side of the stack are operated, I place some few pieces of
timber did across the said beam near its outer ends prior to stacking the crop
upon it.
The beam & might rest on the surface of the ground, but it is more convenient to
lay it in a trench so that it lies flush with the ground.
To balance the dead weight of the angle iron girders or beams b b, and to prevent
their falling when the ends or laps of the wire rope or ropes are detached from the
hooks or horn plates, I employ counterbalance weights suspended from chains or
ropes attached to the said girders or beams and passing over pulleys mounted in
uprights or standards bolted to the projecting ends of balks of timber laid beneath
the stack, or fixed in the ground.
These counterbalance weights may be of concrete, stone, iron or other material.
If it be desired to give absolutely continuous pressure to the crop the foot of the
screw jack, hydraulic jack, or other tension or pressure exerting device may be
attached to loose weighs either directly, or by the intervention of levers pulleys or
the like.
The result would be that when the stack was sufficiently consolidated to bear the
weight, the weight would be lifted and remain suspended until the stack settled
again and lowered the weight so as to rest upon the ground again.
In some cases I may lay beams or bars of iron or wood at intervals upon the
sloping roof of the stack as shown in Fig 4, before passing the wire rope, ropes or
bands, across it from side, as above described, and in this case I shall not require to
set the said ropes, or laps of rope, so closely together. I may also in that case
attach the ends or laps of the rope or ropes directly to the tension device or frame
instead of hitching them to beams or girders at the sides of the stack.
I would here remark that I make no claim to the use of chains in such tension
apparatus for applying leverage to draw down the girders and the wire ropes or
equivalent flexible compressing bands passing across and in direct contact with the
peaked rounded or arched top of the stack, nor do I make any claim or limit
myself to any kind of tension apparatus in connection with my invention, but
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The use in the compression of crops for ensilage of a wire rope or ropes, or
equivalent strong and flexible bands, passing across the top of the stack and drawn

page_text: down simultaneously or separately by means of tension apparatus of any suitable
kind, whereby the stack may be fully compressed while retaining its rounded,
sloping or peaked shape at top, substantially as set forth.
2. A flexible top lacing for ensilage stacks, consisting of lengths or laps of chain,
wire rope, hoop iron or equivalent strong and flexible material, in combination
with side beams or girders b b, and a screw rod or its equivalent operated by a
tension device anchored in the ground or held down by weights, substantially as
and for the purpose described with reference to the accompanying Drawing.
3. The combination with tension apparatus of any suitable kind for compressing
crops for ensilage, of the readily detachable strands, wires, chains or bands a a, con-
stituting a flexible open cover or lacing across the top of the stack, girders 6 b, and
beams d d', or their equivalent, for preventing the cutting of the stack when
pressure is applied, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.