CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR EXPRESSING OIL OR OTHER FLUIDS FROM FRUITS, GRAINS, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, of
16, Castle Street, Holborn, (City,) London, Patent Agent, for the
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR EXPRESSING
OIL OR OTHER FLUIDS FROM FRUITS, GRAINS, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES."-
A communication
Sealed the 2nd May 1854, and dated the 19th December 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Auguste Edouard
Loradoux Bellford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with his Petition, on the 19th December 1858.
I, AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street,
Holborn, (City,) London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR
EXPRESSING OIL OR OTHER FLUIDS FROM FRUITS, GRAINS, OR OTHER SUB-
STANCES," to be as follows, viz. :-
This Invention relates, firstly, to a certain mode of constructing and
combining the pressing plates, so as to make them form a series of

page_text: complete cases, in which the fruit, gram, or other substance to De
operated upon is received and pressed, and from which it is discharged
without removing the said cases from the press, and without enveloping
the substance in bass or mats. It relates, secondly, to a certain mode
of connecting the pressing plates, for the purpose of heating the
substance by steam while undergoing pressure. The Invention is
applicable alike to presses constructed on the hydrostatic principle,
or to those which have the pressure produced by other means. As the
hydrostatic press is perhaps better adapted than any other for the
purpose herein specified, I will describe the Invention as applied
to oue.
A rain of thic cylinder of a hydraulic press works in a horizontal
position, or nearly so; the back head receives the pressure, and is
attached to the lugs of the hydraulic cylinder by four great rods.
These rods are conveniently used as guides for the plates, being
spanned by the bracket arms jutting out from the plates. Between
the ram and the back head are arranged the pressing plates, on the
'face of which are formed a series of complete cases into which the
substance to be pressed is filled.
The sides of each of these cases are formed by the projections of
one plate, while on the opposite plate a projection presents itself as a
follower, cand.works inside: the first projections when the plates. are
driven together. The tops and bottom of these cases are closed by
doors and caps. The cap above juts out from the plate above the
follower, and slides up over the door, and holds it firmly closed while
the substance is pressing in the case. The lower door is held by a
cap in like manner. In the interior of each of the plates a steam
chamber is formed, and this chamber is filled with columns connecting
the shells of the plate, so that the pressure to which it is subjected
will not crush it..
At the outer edges of the plates, and communicating with the steam
chambers, a series of pipes are attached, and arranged so as to work
into each other like the joints of a telescope, each joint being provided
with a stuffing, box, thus providing for the movement of the plates
when the press i
is in action, without breaking the connection with the

page_text: reservoir which supplies steam to the chambers. The steam is brought
in at the flange, and the supply indicated by a safety valvo or a
thermometer provided for the purpose. A steam cylinder is bolted' on
to the back' head, for the purpose of returning the ram to it's place in
the cylinder, and for the purpose of opening and distributing the plates
after a pressing is completed. This cylinder is worked with á slide
valve in the usual manner by a hand 'lever, the steam being admitted
to the valvo chest, and discharged by. a suitable outlet. The piston is
also arranged in the usual manner; and the piston rod is attached to
the cross piece. Side rods are attached to the cross piece and to
brackets which jut' out from the first plate, against which the ram
rests. When the hydraulic pressure-is taken off from the ram, steam
being admitted into the cylinder to act upon the piston, carries the
ram to its place in the cylinder, and the plates to their respective
places. The side rods pass through two holes in the back head, and'
are guided by pillow blocks through. which they slide. The lower
doors of the cases are all lowered or raised simultaneously by a series
of chains, which correct them with; pulleys on a shaft which is fur-
nished with a hand wheel. The pulleys are furnished with feathers.
working in a slot in the shaft, and the flange of the pulley rests in
a slot in the plate, so that when the plate moves forward it carries
its pulley along with it, and thus preserves an uniform strain on the
chains.
The doors work on hinges; they also have circular bosses which work
in sockets in tlic caps like knuckle joints, and rest against the bottom
of the sockets, and thus compel the doors to hold their positions when
sliding under the caps.
The back and front of the cases are each lined with a' metallic
filterer, through which the oil escapes into passages behind, and hence
out below. The openings through these linings, for the 'escape of. the
expressed' oil or other fluid from the cases, are of a circular form.
The passages for the oil or other fluid' behind the linings are very
narrow, but slightly widened towards the base, in order that the oil
passing into them may prevent them from becoming clogged. A wide
passage where the lining lays on to it. would suffer the lining to be

page_text: driven into it by the pressure. The cases are made wider at the
bottom end, in order that the cakes may be easily dislodged. The
plates are made of cast iron, cast in dry sand, complete in all their
parts, the chambers being formed with cores, and the shells and other
parts of the plates made so as to ensure equal expansion and contrac-
tion when heated, and cooled so that they may not be weakened or
strained. The bracket arms of the plates are bored with regard to the
expansion of the plates when heated, so as not to bind on the guides.
The metallic linings of the cases are made of wrought iron of about a
quarter of an inch thick, hammered perfectly true, and grooved along
the line of the perforations, so that there is only a very thin shell of
metal for the perforating tool to penetrate. The grooving is done in a
planing machine or with a rotary cutter. The holes are drilled or
punched with a tool one sixteenth of an inch in diameter, and the
burr which is raised on the issuing of the tool is hammered back into
the hole, so as to leave it very small and ragged. The faces are then
ground and polished so that no substance will stick to their surface.
They are attached to the plates by countersunk-headed screws, and
may be removed at any time. The passages through which the oil
passes, after being forced through the filtering linings are cut into the
casting on a planing machine. The doors of the case are of wrought
iron, and finished as smoothly as a slide valve. Before charging, the
lower doors are closed by drawing up the chains, and the upper doors
opened. The charges are spouted into the cases with a canvas hose,
or are introduced by other suitable means, and then the upper doors
are closed either by hand or mechanical means provided for that
purpose, after which the injection pumps may be set in action. The
ram is then driven forward upon the first plate, whose follower
advances between the sides formed by the projections of the next
plate, and under the upper door, and over the lower door, the cap
passing over the upper door and another under the lower door, and
holding them firmly closed. As soon as the substance in the first case
is somewhat compressed, the next plate moves forward upon its neigh-
bour, and so on till the pressure of all is concentrated on the back head;
the doors and caps of cach case acting in the manner described, and

page_text: the telescope pipes, in the meantime passing into each other through
their respective stuffing boxes, allows freo passage of steam into the
interior of the plates, so that they are kept properly heated, and com-
municate their heat to the substance being pressed in the cases. In
the mean time steam is adinitted into the cylinder on that side of the
piston next to the back head, and thus aid is given to the hydrostatic
pressure in proportion to the pressure of the steam, and the area of
the piston. The oil escapes from the broad surfaces of the cakes, and
goes through the passages, and out through openings at the bottom into
a pan or reservoir provided for the purpose. The last-named open-
ings are not shown, but are substantially similar to the corresponding
openings in oil presses in common use. When the pressing is com-
pleted, the exhaust valve of the hydrostatic press is raised, the steam
from the one side of the piston exhausted, and steam admitted on the
other side of the piston to drive the ram back into its cylinder, and
the plates dragged apart to the fullest degree. The upper doors are
then raised, and the lower doors opened, and the cakes knocked out.
The cakes fall upon an incliued plauo of bars, and slide off below.
The lower lids are then closed by turning the hand wheel, the cases
refilled, and the upper doors closed ready for another operation. The
principal object of the steam cylinder and piston is to form a con-
venient means of returning the ram, and drawing apart the plates
after every pressing operation; but the pressure of steam on the piston
is also made available for assisting the hydrostatic pressure on the
ram. The action of the piston when returning the ram is slow and
steady, the water in the cylinder passing out at a small hole, and dis-
charging itself into the pump cistern, prevents the return of the ram
suddenly AP withiork

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 17th June 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street, Holborn,
(City,) London, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seven-
teenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Augusto Edouard Loradoux Bellford,
Her-special license that I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux-Bellford,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, 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, communicated to me by a foreigner
residing abroad, for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR EXPRESSING
OIL OR OTHER FLUIDS FROM. FRUITS, GRAINS, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Auguste Edouard.
Loradoux Bellford, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux
Bellford, do hereby declare the nature of the 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):
This Invention relates, firstly, to a certain mode of constructing
and combining the pressing plates, so as to make them form a series
of complete cases, in which the fruit, grain, or other substance to be

page_text: operated upon, is received and pressed, and from which it is discharged
without removing the said cases from the press, and without enveloping
the substance in bags or mats. It relates, secondly, to a certain mode
of connecting the pressing plates, for the purpose of heating the sub-
stance by steam, while undergoing pressure.
This Invention is applicablo alike to presses constructed on the
hydrostatic principal, or to those which have the pressure produced by
other means. As the hydrostatic press is perhaps better adapted than
any other for the purpose herein specified, I have represented in the
accompanying drawing, and will describe my Invention, applied to a
hydrostatic press. The injection pumps, and all parts to which the
Invention in no way relates, are purposely omitted in the Drawing.
Fig. 1, in the Drawing, is a side elevation of the press.
Fig. 2, is a left-hand end view, and
Fig. 3, a right-hand end view.
Fig. 4, is a longitudinal vertical section through the centre.
Fig. 5, is a transverse vertical section in the line * * of Figs. 1,
and 4.
Fig. 6, is a transverse vertical section in the line * * of Figs. 1,
and 4.
Fig. 7, is a horizontal section of a part of the press, showing the
manner in which the cases are formed.
Fig. 8, is a perspective view of one of the lower doors detached from
the press.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the
several Figs.
A, is the cylinder of a hydraulic press, the ram B, working in a
horizontal line, or nearly so. Back head C receives the pressure, and
is attached to the lugs E of the hydraulic cylinder, by the four great
rods D, D, D, D. These rods are conveniently used as guides for the
plates F, F, being spanned by the bracket arms jutting out from the
plates. Between the ram B, and the back head C, are arranged the
pressing plates F, F, on the face of which are formed a series of com-
plete cases U, U, into which the substance to be pressed is filled. The
sides of each of these cases are formed by the projections b, b, of one

page_text: plate (see Fig. 7), while on the opposite plate the projection c presents
itself as a follower, and works inside of b, b, when the plates are driven
together. The top and bottom of these cases are closed by the doors
P', P, and caps Q, Q". The cap Q', above juts out from the plate F,
above the follower c, and slides up over the door P', and holds it firmly
closed while the substance is pressing in the case C. The lower door
Pu is held by cap Q" in like manner.
In the interior of cach of the plates 1, a steam chamber V is formned,
and this chamber is filled with columns d, connecting the shells of
the plate, so that the pressure to which it is subjected will not crush it.
At the outer edges of the plates F, F, and communicating with the
steam chambers V, V, a series of pipes N, N, are attached and arranged
so as to work into each other, like the joints of a telescope, cach joint
being provided with a stuffing box, thus providing for the movement
of the plates when the press is in action, without breaking the con-
nection with the reservoir which supplies steam to the chambers V, V.
The steam is brought in at the flange O, see Fig. 1, and the supply
indicated by a safety valve or a thermometer provided for the purpose.
A steam cylinder G, is bolted on to the back head C, for the purpose
of returning the ram B to its place on the cylinder A, and for the
purpose of opening and distributing the plates after a pressing is
completed. This cylinder is worked with a slide valve H, in the usual
manner by a hand lever m, the steam being admitted to the valve
chest at I, and discharged at J. The piston W is also arranged in
the usual manner, and the piston rod is attached to the cross piece K.
Side rods L, L, are attached to the cross piece K, and to the brackets
M, M, (see Figs. 1 and 6,) which jut out from the first plate F, against
which the ram B rests. When the hydraulic pressure is taken off
from the ram B, steam being admitted into the cylinder G, to act upon
the piston W, carries the ram to its place in the cylinder A, and the
plates to their respective places. The side rods L, L, pass through
two holes in the back head C, and are guided by pillow blocks Y, Y,
through which they slide. The lower doors of the cases U, are all
lowered or raised simultaneously by a series of chains Z, Z, which
correct them with pulleys R, R, on a shaft S, which is furnished with

page_text: a hand wheel T. The pulloys R, R, are furnished with feathers
working in a slot in shaft S, and the flange of the pulley rests in a
slot in the plate F, so that when the plate moves forward it carries its
pulley along with it, and thus preserves an uniform strain on the
chains Z, Z.
The doors work on hinges shown in Fig. 4; they also have circular
bosses a, a, which work in sockets in the caps Q, Q", like knuckle
joints, and rest against the bottom of the sockets, and thus compel the
doors to hold their positions when sliding under the caps Q³, Q".
escape
The back and front of the cases are cach lined with a metallic
filterer K, through which the oil escapes into passages f,f, behind, and
thence out below. The openings through these linings for the
of the expressed oil or other fluid from the cases are represented by
small circles in Figs. 5 and 6, and aro shown in section in Figs. 4 and
7, where they are indicated by the letters e, c. The passages f, f, for
the oil or other fluid behind the linings X, X, are very narrow, but
slightly widened towards the base, as indicated by the dotted lines in
Fig. 6, which represent the passages behind the several upright rows of
openings in the filterer. They are widened towards the base, in order
that the oil passing into them may prevent them from becoming
clogged. A wide passage, where the lining lays on to it, would suffer
the lining to be driven into it by the pressure. The cases U, U, are
made wider at the bottom end in order that the cakes may be easily
dislodged. The plates F, F, are made of cast iron, cast in dry sand,
complete in all their parts, the chambers V, V, being formed with cores,
and the shells and other parts of the plates made so as to ensure equal
expansion and contraction when heated and cooled, so that they be not
weakened or strained. The bracket arms of the plates are bored with
regard to the expansion of the plates when heated, so as not to bind on
the guides D, D. The metallic linings of the cases are made of wrought
iron of about a quarter of an inch thick, hammered perfectly true, and
grooved along the line of the perforations, so that there is only a vory
thin shell of motal for the perforating tool to penetrate. The grooving
is done in a planing machine, or with a rotary cutter. The holes are
drilled or punched with a tool one sixteenth of an inch in diameter,

page_text: and the burr which is raised on the issuing of the tool is hammered
back into the hole so as to leave it very small and ragged. The faces
are then ground and polished so that no. substance will stick to their
surface. They are attached to the plates F, F, by countersunk-headed
screws, and may be removed at any time. The passages fifthrough
which the oil passes after being forced through the filtering linings, are
cut into the casting on a planing machine. The doors P¹, P, of the
case, are of wrought iron, and finished as smothly as a slide valve.
The elevation, Fig.-1,-represents the plates-F, F, all drawn out, or in
the position they occupy before the charges-aro introduced to the cases.
Before charging, the lower doors P", are closed by drawing up the
chains Z, Z, and the upper doors P¹ opened. The charges are spouted
into the cases with a canvass hose, or are introduced by other suitable
means, and then the upper doors are closed, either by hand or
mechanical means provided for that purpose, after which the injection
pumps may be.sct-in.action. The rau is then driven forward upon the
first plate I, whose follower C, advances between the sides formed by
the projections b, b, of the next plate, and under the upper door and
over the lower door; the cap Q¹passing over the upper door, and the
cap Qunder the lower door, and holding them firmly closed. As
soon as the substance in the first case is somewhat compressed, the
next plate moves forward upon its neighbor, and so on till the pressure
of all is concentrated on the back head C, the doors and caps of each
case acting in the manner described; and the telescope pipes N, N, in
the mean time, passing into each other through their respective stuffing
boxes, allows free passage of steam into the interior of the plates, so
that they are kept properly heated, and communicate their heat to the
substanco being pressed in the cases. In the mean time steam is
admitted to the cylinder G; on that side of the piston W next to the
back head C, and thus aid is given to the hydrostatic pressure in pro-
portion to the pressure of the steam and the area of the piston. The
escapes from the broad surfaces of the cakes, and goes through the
passages ff, and out through openings at the bottom into a pan or
reservoir provided for the purpose. The last-named openings are not
shown, but are substantially similar to the corresponding.openings in
oil

page_text: oil presses in common use. When the pressing is completed, the
exhaust valve of the hydrostatic press is raised, the steam from the one
side of the piston W exhausted, and steam admitted on the other
side of the piston, to drive the ram back into its cylinder A, and the
plates dragged apart to the fullest degree. The upper doors P" are
then raised, and the lower doors opened, and the cakes knocked out.
The cakes fall upon an inclined plane of bars, and slide off below.
The lower lids are then closed by turning the hand wheel T, the cases
refilled, and the upper doors closed ready for another operation.
The capacity of the press, and the size, shape, and number of the
plates and cases, may be varied to suit circumstances; and the press
may be worked cold, if desired, by stopping off the steam before it
reaches the opening O. The principal object of the steam cylinder G,
and piston W, is to form a convenient means of returning the ram,
and drawing apart the plates after every pressing operation; but I also
avail myself of the pressure of steam on the piston to assist the hydro-
static pressure on the rain. The action of the piston when returning
the ram is slow and steady; the water on the cylinder A passing out at
a small hole, and discharging itself into the cistern, prevents the
return of the ram suddenly or with a jerk. The telescope pipes, being
attached to the plates somewhat lower than the chamber in the interior
of the plates into which the steam is admitted, serve to carry away
the condensed water from the chambers, and if the press is set above
the boiler which supplies the steam, the water will find its way back
to it.
What I claim as my Invention is,-
pump
Firstly, the continuation of a series of pressing plates F, F, formed
to fit each other substantially as herein described, and furnished with
top and bottom doors P¹, P", the said plates and doors forming a series
of complete cases in which the substance to be pressed is deposited and
pressed, and from which it is discharged, as herein set forth, without
removing the said cases from the press, and without enveloping the
substance in mats or bags.
Secondly, the use of metallic filtering linings X, X, attached to the
pressing plate with passages f, f. behind them, as described, for the

page_text: escape of the expressed oil or fluid to any suitable channels for con-
veying the said oil or fluid to a reservoir.
Thirdly, connecting the steam chambers V, V, in the pressing
plates, and supplying the whole series of chambers by means of a
series of pipes N, N, which slide into each other through stuffing
boxes, as described, in a line with the motion of the pressing plates.
In witness whereof, I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux
Bellford, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth
day of June, in the year of our Lord 1854.
1 A. E. LORADOUX BELLFORD.