IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDRAULIC SEED CRUSHING MACHINES OR OIL PRESSES
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Louis Rudolph Bodmer, of 2, Thavies Inn, in the
City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDRAULIC SEED
CRUSHING MACHINES OR OIL PRESSES."
Sealed the 4th April 1856, and dated the 20th December 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Louis Rudolph Bodmer
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th December 1855.
I, LOUIS RUDOLPH BODMER, of 2, Thavies Inn, in the City of London,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
HYDRAULIC SEED CRUSHING MACHINES OR OIL PRESSES" to be as follows:
The object of my Invention is to facilitate the flow of the oil from the cases
or other receptacles containing the seed or other substance from which oil
is to be obtained by pressure. The receptacles for holding the seed which I
prefer to use, are plain cylindrical wrought-iron rings of a depth and diameter
corresponding to the force of the press. These rings are placed upon perfo
rated plates or strong wire sieves resting upon grates.
One of my improvements consists in providing the ram which presses upon
the seed when the machine is in operation with a grate and perforated plate,
instead of making it solid as usual, so as to allow the oil to escape simulta-
neously from two surfaces, each being equal to the area of the ring.
And another of my improvements consists in hanging the press in bearings
by means of trunnions, so placed that the weight above and below the axis of
the trunnions shall be balanced, or nearly so, instead of permanently fixing it
in the usual upright position. The object of this arrangement is to admit of

page_text: bringing the press from its upright position into a horizontal one, whereby the
grates above referred to assume a vertical position, which is the most favorable
for the off-flow of the oil. The change of position of the press may be
effected by a worm and worm-wheel, or other suitably applied gearing, moved
either by hand or by power.
The press is worked in the following manner:-The rings, having been
charged with the seed or other substance, are placed on the grates, whereupon
hydraulic pressure is applied to the ram. As the ram rises, the press is, by the
mechanism above mentioned, gradually lowered into the horizontal position, in
which it is allowed to remain until the oil has ceased to flow from the spouts,
after which it is again replaced into the vertical position, when the oil cakes
can be conveniently removed and a fresh charge of seed introduced. My
improved press thus combines the advantages both of the vertical and hori-
zontal press; the former consisting in the convenience of charging the press
and the absence of counterweights, and the latter in facilitating the flowing off
of the oil.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Louis Rudolph Bodmer in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 20th June 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LOUIS
RUDOLPH BODMER, of 2, Thavies Inn, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said. Louis Rudolph Bodmer, Her special licence that I, the said Louis
Rudolph Bodmer, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Louis Rudolph Bodmer, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDRAULIC SEED CRUSHING MACHINES OR OIL PRESSES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Louis Rudolph Bodmer,
iny executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
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

page_text: 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 Louis Rudolph Bodmer, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
My improvements relate to certain contrivances for facilitating the extrac-
tion of the oil from seeds or other substances from which oil is to be obtained
by pressure, and also for facilitating the flow of the oil from the receptacles
containing such seed or other substance. The receptacles which I prefer to
use are plain wrought-iron rings, but frames of other shapes may be used,
their area and depth being proportioned to the force of the press. Each ring
stands upon a perforated plate or strong wire sieve resting upon the grating
or grooved surface of the tray or platform. A plunger, provided with a similar
grating and perforated plate, is placed over the ring, and will, when the
press is in operation, enter into it, whereby the oil contained in the seed will
be squeezed out and escape through the two perforated plates, the area of each
of which is equal to that of the ring, into the grates of the trays and plungers,
which communicate by means of suitable passages with spouts, from which the
oil is discharged into cans or other receivers. In order to secure an easy and
rapid discharge of the oil from the gratings of the trays and plungers, I sus-
pend the whole press in bearings by means of trunnions, so placed that the
weight of the press above and below the trunnions shall be balanced, as near
as is practicable, instead of permanently fixing the press in the usual upright
position. This arrangement admits of the press being brought into a slanting
or horizontal position, whereby the gratings above referred to assume a
vertical or such other inclined position as is most favorable for the off-flow of
the oil. This change of position of the press may be effected either by a worm
and worm wheel, or other suitably applied gearing, moved either by hand or
by power.
In order that my Invention may be more clearly understood, and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the same, reference being had to
the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and the letters and figures marked
thereon.
Fig. 1 represents a front elevation, partly in section, of my improved press,
which is furnished with two trays; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;
Fig. 3, a ground plan, with the upper part of the press removed; and Fig. 4,
a side elevation, representing the press as lowered into a horizontal position.

page_text: 1 is the cylinder, with the cheeks 2 cast on it, into which the two pillars 3
are secured by means of the caps 4 and bolts 5. The trunnions 6 are cast or
forged of one piece with the caps 4, and are supported by the pedestals 7,
which are fixed upon suitable foundations. The upper parts of the pillars 3
are secured in the head 8 of the press in the usual manner.
The rings or
receptacles 9. & 10, for containing the seed, are placed upon the perforated
plates or wire sieve 11 & 12, which rest upon the grooved surfaces or gratings
13 & 14 of the trays 15 & 16. The trays 15 & 16 are open in front, as
shewn in Fig. 3, but otherwise surrounded by a rim X, X, so that the recep-
tacles or rings 9 & 10 can be easily withdrawn from their respective trays,
and again replaced with the certainty of their occupying the precise position
required. The tray 15 rests upon the ram 17 of the press cylinder, and is
guided on the pillars 3 by the brackets 18, whilst the tray 16 is guided on the
pillars 3 by the brackets 19, which rest upon the collars 20, shrunk or other-
wise fixed on the pillars, and thus support the tray 16 whilst it remains in the
position indicated in Fig. 1. The cylindrical projecting part 21 of the tray 16
serves as plunger for the ring 9, whilst a similar plunger 22, fixed to the bead
8 of the press, serves for the ring 10. The lower surfaces of both these pistons
are furnished with grooves or gratings 23 & 24, in a similar manner as the
surfaces of the trays 15 & 16, and fitted with perforated plates 25 & 26, so
that when the ram 17 of the press cylinder rises, the plungers 21 & 22 will
respectively enter into and compress the seed contained in the rings 9 & 10;
Fig. 3 shews how the grooves in the tray 15 communicate with the spout 27;
and Figs. 5 & 6 represent in transverse and horizontal sections the manner in
which the grooves on the surfaces of the tray 16 and plunger 21 communicate
by means of passages with the spout 28, in a similar manner as described with
reference to Figs. 5 & 6. On the prolongation 30 of one of the trunnions 6,
a worm-wheel quadrant 31 is keyed, gearing into the worm 32 on the shaft 33
(see Fig. 2), which revolves in suitable bearings. On one end of the shaft 33
the fast pulley 34 and the loose pulleys 35 & 36 are placed, which are driven
by the
open strap 37 and crossed strap 38 in the direction of their respective
arrows. The straps 37 & 38 are respectively guided by the forks 39 & 40,
fixed on the guide rod 41, which is linked to the starting lever 42. The rod
41 and starting lever 42 act in combination with certain clicks, levers, and
weights, for the purpose of changing the position of the press, as will be here-
after described. .
Before proceeding further, it is necessary to mention that tables or forms are
fixed on that side of the press from which the receptacles or rings for holding
the seed are introduced. These forms or tables being on a level with the

page_text: surfaces of the upper and lower tray, the rings can with ease be moved to and
from the trays, as may be required.
The press is worked in the following manner :-The seed may be put into
the rings or receptacles 9 & 10, in bags or wrappers as usual; but I purposè
altogether to dispense with such bags, and to use mats of hair instead of them.
I place one mat at the bottom of the ring, and another at the top, with the
seed between them; experience having proved to me that when pressure is
applied, the mats which are made to fit tightly into the rings expand, and
effectually prevent any escape of the seed between the edge of the mats and
the ring. The rings thus charged are then placed over their respective trays,
and hydraulic pressure is applied to the ram 17 through a swivel joint and the
pipe 43. When the ram 17 begins to rise, the starting lever 42 is moved from
its normal position, indicated by the red line a, into the position 6, in which it
is represented in Fig. 2, whereby the strap 37 is brought from the loose pulley
35 upon the fast pulley 34. The moment the starting lever 42 arrives in the
position b, the weighted catch 44 will fall into the notch 41, and thus arrest
the bar 41 with the strap forks, in the position indicated in Fig. 2. The worm-
wheel quadrant 31 will now move in the direction of the arrow (see Fig. 2),
until the press arrives in the horizontal position (see Fig. 4), when the pin 45
of the quadrant will have come in contact with and moved the weighted catch
44 out of the notch 41°. The adjustable weight of the bell-crank lever 46,
which on the starting lever 42 being moved from position a to position b, had
been raised by means of the stud 47, will, on the rod 41 being released, force
the starting lever 42 back into its norinal position a, where it will be arrested
by the other end of the stud 47 coming in contact with the upright a
arm of the
weighted bell-crank lever 48. The press is allowed to remain in the horizontal
position represented in Fig. 4, until the oil has ceased to flow from the spouts,
whereupon the pressure is removed from under the ram 17, and the starting
lever 42 is moved from the position a into the position c, in which it will be
retained by the catch 49 falling into the notch 41b (see Fig. 4). The strap
38 being now on the fast pulley 34, will make the worm-wheel quadrant 31
move in the direction of its arrow (see Fig. 4), and cause the press to return
into its former vertical position, on arriving at which the pin 50 will raise and
disengage the weighted catch 49 from the notch 41b, whereupon the weighted
bell-cranck lever 48 will force the starting lever 42 back into the position a,
where it will again be arrested by the upright arm of the bell-crank lever 46,
after having thrown the strap 38 upon the loose pulley 36. The trays and
rings will by this time have returned from their positions seen in Fig. 4 into
those seen in Figs. 1 & 2. The rings 9 & 10 are then withdrawn, and others,

page_text: which have in the mean time been filled with seed, introduced in their stead,
when the same operation is repeated. The pipe 43 moves with the press from
the position indicated by the red line y (see Fig. 2) to that indicated by the
red line (see Fig. 4), and vice versa. The grooved surfaces or gratings of
the trays and their corresponding plungers are represented in the Drawing as
fitted with perforated plates of sheet iron, but I intend to make and use in
place of the perforated plates, wire sieves, which will allow the oil to run more
freely into the grooves of the trays and plungers. The sieves are formed of
pieces of steel wire, placed side by side, either close to each other or within a
greater or less distance from each other, and fitted into a suitable frame, so
that the sieve may be more easily removed from and again secured to the
tray or plunger. When the sieve is in its place, the wires will be at right
angles with the ribs of the grooved surfaces upon which they rest. The wires
may be round, or square, or oblong, and rounded on the surfaces only. Similar
wires can, with slight modifications in the corresponding parts, be applied with
advantage to all kinds of oil presses.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same may be carried into effect, I desire it to be understood that I
do not confine myself to the precise details or arrangements herein set forth,
as they may be varied without departing from the principals or main features
of my Invention; but what I consider to be novel and original, and there-
fore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent, is,-
Firstly, the suspending the press in bearings, and making the same moveable,
in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described.
Secondly, the application of grooved surfaces or gratings, and of perforated
plates or wire sieve, to the plungers, substantially as herein-before described
with reference to Figs. 1, 5, & 6 of the Drawings.
And, thirdly, the application or use of wire sieve to hydraulic oil presses,
substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Louis Rudolph Bodmer, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
L. R. BODMER. (L.S.)