IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDRAULIC PRESSES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jules Henri Etienne Mareschal, of Paris, (France,)
Mechanical Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDRAULIC
PRESSES."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Jules Henri Etienne
Mareschal at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition and Declaration, on the 24th December 1856, pursuant to
the 9th section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JULES
HENRI ETIENNE MARESCHAI, of Paris (France), Mechanical Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
HYDRAULIC PRESSES," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the
same, and have made solemn declaration that I verily believe myself to
be the first and true Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Jules Henri Etienne Mareschal, do
hereby declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand
and seal, fully describes the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed.
These improvements in hydraulic presses have for their principal object
to render them more easily and effectually applicable to a great many

page_text: industrial purposes for which till now they could not be or were not
employed, because of their incumbrance, difficulty of working, and high
price. My improvements have for their result to make these presses
locomobile, that is to say, easily transportable from one spot to another.
Arranged according to my dispositions, they may be sold at a com-
paratively low price, and as their mode of working at the same time is
very regular and casy, they may be employed, as mentioned above,
to a great many industrial purposes, for which a
powerfull pressing force is required; such, for instance, as the moulding
of bricks, tiles, tubes, and other similar articles of clay, or other plastic
or mouldable materials, the manufacture of sausages, macaroni, or other
pastes, the separating of the liquid from solid parts, such as the pressing
or squeezing out of juices, oils, greases, watery parts, and others.
steady and
In the annexed Drawings, Sheet I. represents an arrangement of
hydraulic press particularly suitable for the moulding of drain other
tubes, full or hollow bricks, tiles, and other similar objects of clay or other
plastic or mouldable materials, such as for the manufacture of macaroni,
vermicelli, the filling of sausages, and other similar purposes.
Sheet II. shews a press serving for the same purposes, and acting in the
same manner as the preceeding one, but of a horizontal instead of a
vertical disposition.
Sheet III. represents an arrangement more particularly suitable for the
clearing of clays and other plastic or pasty materials from stones or other
hard or solid parts contained therein, and which are wished to be
separated therefrom; also for the separation of the liquid from the solid
parts, such as the extracting of juices, oils, watery and other liquid sub-
stances from the harder or solid parts with which they are mixed, or in
which they are contained.
Sheet IV. shows another arrangement applicable to similar purposes as
the one represented in Sheet III., but which will be found particularly
useful for domestic purposes.
The main feature or distinguishing character of these different machines
is, that in each of them the moveable surface on which the water is acting
is equal, or nearly equal, to the moveable surface acting on the substance
to be pressed, the result of which will be that, in order to obtain the
pressing or moulding effects, a comparatively moderate hydraulic pressure
is required, and that by this disposition. 1", the greatest part of the
difficulties existing generally in the construction of hydraulic presses is
done away with in these improved machines; 2, to offer the possibility of
determining always exactly and at every moment, by the use of a
manometer or pressure gauge, the amount of pressure exerted, and thus

page_text: to permit of obtaining a methodical regular manufacture; and 3", to
make my improved apparatusses, locomobiles, light, cheap, and easily to
be worked comparatively with the hydraulic presses hitherto employed,
so as to vulgarize the use of the hydraulic press for agricultural and
domestic purposes.
In the annexed Drawings corresponding parts are indicated by the
same letters of reference in the Figures of each particular Sheet.
I now will describe the apparatus represented in Sheet I. of the
Drawings. In this Sheet, Fig. 1 represents a vertical longitudinal section
of the machine, of which Fig. 2 shows a plan view, the cover T¹ of the
tank or water cistern T having being removed, in order to show the parts
contained in the tank. In Fig. 2, the air pump has not been represented,
in order better to show the mode of closing the lid C; but this pump is
indicated in the Figs. 3, 4, and 5, Fig. 3 representing a front view of the
lid and air pump, whereas Fig. 4 shows a plan view of the same, the air
pump being cut over its axis, and Fig. 5 being a side view. A is the
cylinder of the press, serving at the same time as a holder for the clay
or other materials to be moulded; the same rests on the bottom of the tank
T; E is the mould or die, through which the clay is forced. The opening
at the opposite side of the cylinder is closed temporarily with a plate E',
in order, if required, to affix to this opening a second mould or die, or a
short conical tube E" may be inserted in this plate, in order to offer an
outlet for the meat. In case the apparatus is to serve for filling sausages,
several moulds, dies, or tubes might be affixed in the same manner, in
order to operate simultaneously. B is a cast-iron piston turned perfectly
true, provided at its lower end with a ring or fitting of embossed leather,
or any other suitable material, in such manner that by the pressure of
the water against the under side of the piston the leather is lifted up,
and applies itself closely against the inner surface of the cylinder, thus
preventing any water to pass between the piston and the cylinder. On
opening the exit valve P the water escapes from under the piston, and
ceases to press against the leather, thus allowing the piston to descend
by its own weight to the bottom of the cylinder. C is a suitable lid of
cast or sheet iron, turning on hinges C₁, the outer rim of which lid fits
closely in the top of the cylinder. The centre of the lid C has a socket
or small hollow arbor G, serving as an axis, on which is fixed the three-
armed catch or cross latch F, the arm of which, opposite the hinge, serving
as a handle, whereas the two others, by gliding under two studs F', keep
the lid C soldily fixed on the top of the cylinder. Two projections C"
serve for preventing the lid C, when opened, to fall over entirely. E is
the mould or die, kept in position by two stud pins f,.f; E' is a plate fitting

page_text: on the opening for inserting another mould or die; E" is a conical
tube, fixed to and passed through the plate E', in case the machine is to
serve for filling sausages. When drain tubes or other similar articles
are to be moulded, the usual roller, table, or any other contrivance for
guiding the tubes after their exit from the moulds or dies, is fixed to the
machine in any suitable manner; but it would have been superfluous to
indicate them in the Drawing. F is the cross latch for securing the lid C;
G is a hollow axis establishing the communication between the cylinder
and the air pump W; H, H', H", is the force.pump, H being the body,
H', the worm for the valves, and H", the bed plate of this pump, which is
fixed on the bottom of the water tank, and is consequently partly
beneath the level of the water of this tank. The body or barrel H of the
pump is fixed in an inclined position, in order to correspond with and be
worked by the driving shaft M. The valve worm H' is fixed vertically.
h, h, are the lids for the valves; I is the plunger of the force pump, pro-
vided with a guiding rod I, gliding in a socket J. Round this rod I' is
wound a spiral spring for imparting regularity of motion, which might
be obtained by india-rubber washers or other contrivances. The force
pump acting only when the plunger descends, there would be some
irregularity in the motion of the winch handle if the said spring was not
made use of. K is a forked connecting rod; L a crank, fitted with
several bolt holes for giving more or less stroke to the plunger; M is the
main or driving shaft, receiving motion from any suitable prime mover;
O is the tube, establishing the communication between the force pump.
H, H, H", and the cylinder A, in which latter the same enters at O'. The
pump barrel being in the water of the tank no friction pipe is required,
the water entering in the pump by an aperture left in the plate H". P is
the valve for the exit of the water from the cylinder, and serves also as a
safety valve; the same is worked by a bell-crank lever Q, turning in
bearings Q', the long arm of which lever is provided with several cuts
q, q, q, q, for placing the counterweight R according to the highest pressure
wished to work at, which pressure may be ascertained at any moment,
in order to form articles of a constant density S, s, S¹ is a crutch or
articulated handle for lifting the long arm of the lever Q, and thus
opening the valve P, connected to the short arm of this lever. The part s
having been introduced through a slit in the cover T' of the tank, the
handle is turned round one-quarter of a revolution, whereby the crutch
comes to lay in a transverse direction over the slit, and thus keeps the
long arm suspended and the valve P opened; this valve is connected
by a moveable ring p to the short arm of the lever, which contrivance
permits of readily opening the valve when required; the end of short lever

page_text: arm is connected by a small spindle or pin to the ring p, thus forming a
joint. T is the tank or water cistern, to the bottom of which are bolted
the cylinder; and the force pump T' is the cover or lid of the tank, con-
sisting of several parts, which may be taken off separately, in order to
offer any facility for cleaning the interior of the tank. V is the discharge
pipe, the orifice of which is closed by a plug; U is a manometer or pressure
gauge, communicating with the under part of the cylinder; the same
may be fixed in any suitable manner, but so as to allow of its easy in-
spection by the workmen, who have to regulate the work according to
the indications of this gauge, of which Fig. 1 and 2 show a side view; this
gauge may be of any suitable system, such, for instance, as are used for
steam engines. W is an air pump for exhausting the air from the clay
or other materials in the interior of the cylinder, thus dispensing of form-
ing them in compact lumps of the dimensions of the vessel, previously
of introducing the same therein, so that these materials may be at once.
thrown in the cylinder, which is then closed, and the air pump W set at
work, whereby the air is withdrawn from the interstices or pores of the
materials, whereby these latter will form a compact mass, in order to
prevent the piston B being lifted by the effect of the atmospheric pressure.
communicated to the same by the water under the piston during the
exhausting of the air pump; W, the entrance opening for the water, is.
closed during this operation, after which the water is allowed to enter
under the piston B, and the force pump H being put in operation, the
piston on rising in the cylinder, the clay or other materials will be pushed
towards the top of the cylinder, where they come to press against a plate
X, with which an inverted tube gliding in G is furnished, and thereby
close the communication between the air pump W and the interior of the
cylinder A, and the clay or other materials are thus compelled to pass
through the opening of the mould or die E. It will be understood that
for establishing the vacuum, the mould or die E must have been filled
with the compressed clay by a preceding pressing operation, in order to
prevent the air entering in the cylinder by the opening of the mould or
die E when the air pump W is put in operation. W is the air pump, the
piston W of which is of a hollow cylindrical form; Y is a connecting rod,
uniting the piston W' to the lever Z, in such manner that on imparting to
this lever a to-and-fro motion, the same is communicated to the piston
by the rod Y. One end of the lever Z has a handle, and the oppisite end
a fork, and is mounted on the spindle of the hinge of the lid of the
cylinder, the air pump W being fixed to and turning with this lid C.
The mode of working of this arrangement is as follows:-Supposing
the piston B to be at the lowest point of its stroke, the part of the cylinder

page_text: H
above the piston is filled with clay or other materials to be moulded into
bricks, tiles, or other similar articles. The lid C is let down and secured
in a solid manner, so as to prevent any clay passing between the lid C
and the top of the cylinder, after which the plunger I of the force pump
is worked by the winch handle N, and the water of the tank T, entering
into the cylinder under the piston B, causes this latter to rise, and thus
compress the clay or other materials, and drive the same out through the
moulds or dies E, or through the small conical tube E", in case a bowl
fixed over this tube is to be filled, such as is the case for the filling of
sausages. The piston B having arrived at the highest point of its stroke,
the lid and the valve P are opened, when the water will return by its
own weight into the tank T, and the piston B return to the lowest point
of its stroke, ready for performing again the same operation. When the
piston B is at the highest point of its stroke, should the handle continue
to be turned, the valve P on opening would prevent any accident occurring
from over pressure.
I now will describe the apparatus represented in Sheet II., which
apparatus consists, 1", of a vessel for holding the clay or other materials
to be moulded, this vessel being provided with a piston for pressing the
material through the moulds or dies; and, 2, a cylinder with piston, this
latter receiving and transmitting the hydraulic pressure to the piston of
the vessel, both pistons being connected together and acting simul-
taneously.
Fig. 1 represents a longitudinal vertical section of the apparatus accord-
ing to the line 3-4 of Fig. 2, the force pump being shown in front view;
Fig. 2 is a transverse section view of the apparatus according to the line
1-2, of Fig. 1; the arbor of the pinion being also shown. A is a vessel
or box, in which are thrown the clay or other materials to be pressed or
moulded, the upper part of this box is furnished with a lid with hinges,
and A' is the piston of the box or vessel A; B is a cast-iron or other metal
cylinder, with its piston B'; b, b, b, are three rods for connecting the two
pistons; 6 is another rod with indented side, in which work the teeth of
the pinion F; C is the force pump, c, c, being the barrels for the valves,
and d the plunger of this pump; d", d", are two connecting rods; D,
arbor, having two crank axles D', and a winch handle H; E, wooden box,
to which are bolted the box A, and the cylinder B; E', water tank; F,
pinion; F, axis of the same; G, suction pipe of the pump, and g, force
pipe for driving the water in the cylinder; H, winch handle; e, eduction
valve; I, rod, forming the continuation of the plunger, which rod glides
in a guide piece d'. The mode of working this apparatus is as follows:-
The clay or other materials having been introduced and packed in the
box A, this latter is closed, and the force pump being put into operation,

page_text: the piston of the cylinder is driven forward by the water pressure, which
piston transmits the pressure to that of the box A, both pistons being
firmly connected by the rods b, b, b, and the indented rod b'; after the
clay or other materials have been pushed out through the dies or moulds,
the discharge valve is opened, and the piston is returned to its original
position by means of a winch handle to be fixed to the end of the arbor F¹.
I now will describe the apparatus represented in Sheet III., the prin-
cipal object of which is to clear the clay or other materials from stones
or other hard parts contained therein, and the separating, extracting, or
squeezing out of juices, oils, and other liquids from solid parts.
Fig. 1 shows a vertical longitudinal section of the apparatus according
to the line 5-6, Fig. 2; whereas Fig. 2 represents a plan view of the same,
and Fig. 3 a similar view, but with the cylinder, piston, and roller table
removed. A is a cast-iron cylinder, provided with a lid A', and hollow
cast-iron piston B, this latter having at its upper part b a leather ring D,
for preventing any water passing between the piston and the cylinder;
C is a counterweight, capable of lifting the piston B; E, e, is a collander
or sieve, which might be mounted on suitable rollers; F are four uprights,
to which are bolted four stays F¹, forming part of the cylinder; F" are
cross bars for keeping united the uprights, and to which are bolted the
two sides G¹ of the frame G, G', on which rests the sieve E, e; H, J, being
a handle for drawing this sieve along the roller table, at the end of which
the handle H, J, is laid two bearings O, in order that the sieve may be
turned topside down, and thus be cleaned of the stones or other hard sub-
stances left behind therein after the pressing of the clay or other materials,
after which the sieve is returned to its original position under the piston
of the cylinder. L, M, M', roller table; O is the rest with bearings for
the handle EI, J, of the sieve E, e, to turn in; P, tube for conveying the
water on the piston, which water is afterwards led off by the pipe Q. The
safety valve, pressure gauge, and force pump of one of the moulding appa-
ratusses represented in Sheet I. and II. may serve for the present sieve
apparatus, or the same may be provided with its own force pump, safety
valve, and pressure gauge. The mode of working this apparatus is as fol-
lows: The sieve or collander E, e, is filled with the clay or other materials
to be acted upon, after which this sieve is carried immediately under the
piston B, which latter is then lowered by the pressure of the water intro-
duced through the induction pipe P communicating with the force pump
of the press; this sieve E, e, having a large surface with a comparatively
small height, offers consequently the advantage, when applied to the
pressing of clay or other materials, of permitting only a very thin layer
of hard substances to remain behind in the sieve at a time, which is con-

page_text: sequently a much smaller impediment to the pressing than the thick
layer, which in ordinary moulding or pressing machines forms against
the grate with which the moulds or dies of these machines are provided.
The force pump is not represented in the Drawing, the piston B being
arrived at the lowest part of its stroke; the induction pipe is closed by
the stop-cock P', and the stop-cock Q' of the discharge pipe opened,
after which, the piston B will rise by the effect of the counterweight C,
the water returning to the cistern of the force pump. The sieve is now
withdrawn from under the piston, and carried over the roller table, the
handle H, J, is laid in the bearings O, the sieve is turned upside down,
and thus cleaned from the stones or other hard bodies, after which the
same is filled again, and pushed under the piston. The apparatus may
be provided with two roller tables and two sieves acting alternately, in
order to offer a regular uninterrupted working. The purged clay or
other materials fall through the mashers or openings of the sieve in a box
or on an incline, and in case of liquid substances, they are collected in a
proper vessel under the sieve.
I now will describe the apparatus represented in Sheet IV., which is to
be applied to the same purposes as that just described, but the same is
more particularly calculated for domestic purposes.
Fig. 1 represents a vertical section of the apparatus taken through the
line 7, 8, of Fig. 2, this latter Figure being a plan view of the water tank
and its force pump, the cover of the tank and the upper parts of the appa-
ratus being taken off. A is a spherical vessel of any suitable metal, per-
forated all over its surface with a number of holes, so as to form a col-
lander or sieve. This vessel is formed of two hollow hemispherical parts
screwed together, the lower part being solidly fixed to a tube C, estab-
lishing a communication between the hollow sphere B and the force
pump; whereas, at the top of the upper hemisphere is situated a circular
opening for introducing in the vessel the substances to be acted upon,
this opening is closed by a metal plate of the form of a spherical segment,
provided also with proper perforations. In the interior of the spherical
vessel A is contained a bag of india-rubber, leather, or any other suitable
flexible material, the opening of which is passed over and solidly fixed to
the metal tube C, provided with a number of perforations, thereby estab-
lishing a communication between the bag B and the force pump, by which
latter water may be forced into the bag B. D, D', is a force pump fixed
to the bottom of the water tank; d, suction valve; d, force valve; g, dis-
charge and safety valve; G, lever of this safety valve; H, stuffing box for
the plunger I; J, vertical lever for imparting a to-and-fro motion to the
plunger I; F, short tube for uniting the tube C to the force pump D, D';

page_text: both ends of this tube F are provided with a screw thread; the lever J
passes through a mortice hole in the extremity of the plunger, and is fixed
by a hinge to the lower part of the tank. This plunger might be situated
in a vertical, and its lever in a horizontal position. K, K', metal jacket,
the upper half of which fits partly in the lower half, which latter is fixed
to the tubular part F by a collar m, and is provided with a pipe L for dis-
charging the liquids, this pipe L. being kept in position by a strap 1; M is
the water tank fitted with a metal lining; P is an opening, permitting
to look at the valve in the interior of the pump, and the same is closed
in the ordinary manner; a, metal ring for keeping the bag B and the
vessel A solidly connected to the tube C. The mode of working of this
apparatus is as follows:--In order to fill the vessel A with the substances
to be acted upon, the upper part K', K', of the jacket and the spherical
segment are removed, and the substances to be acted upon introduced
in the vessel A, the bag B being empty will not interfere consequently
with this operation, after which the vessel is closed again, and the part
K', K', having been put on, the lever J of the pump D, D', is put into
operation, which will cause the water to rise in the tube C, and enter
into the bag B, which latter thereby will become inflated, and taking the
form of the vessel A, as represented in Fig. 1, the bag will press on all
sides against the substances to be pressed, and drive them against the
inner surface of the vessel A, by which pressure the liquid parts will be
obliged to percolate through the perforations of the vessel A; the solid
parts remaining in the interior of this latter, the liquid runs down into
the pipe L of the jacket, from whence the same is drawn off; the sub-
stances having been sufficiently pressed, the water is let out of the bag B
by opening the valve g; after which the hemisphere A' and half jacket K'
are taken off, and the vessel is cleaned from the solid parts which had
reinained in the interior of the same. It will be understood, that instead
of a spherical vessel and flexible bag of the same form, a vessel and bag
of an ovoidal, cylindrical, or other suitable form might be employed.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be put into effect, I wish it to be understood that I
do not confine myself to the shape or form of the apparatusses described,
as they may be varied according to circumstances, or to the precise details
herein described, so long as the peculiar character of either part of the
Invention be retained; but what I claim is,-
1, the hydraulic pressure apparatus described and illustrated in Sheet
I. of the Drawings, composed of a cylinder in which moves a piston of a
comparatively small hight, this piston receiving the pressure of the water,
and transmitting the same immediately to the materials to be moulded
or pressed, laid on this piston in the interior of the said cylinder.

page_text: 21, the combining on one frame or truck, provided with proper wheels
or rollers, of the water tank, the force pump, and the cylinder, so as to
form a locomobile hydraulic press.
8, The adapting of a manometer or pressure gauge for ascertaining
the intensity of the pressure exerted on the substances to be acted upon,
the low pressure with which my apparatuses perform their work permits
to this gauge of giving exact indications.
4, allowing the piston of the cylinder to fall down beneath the level
of the water in the tank when the cylinder is entirely empty, this arrange-
ment allowing to lower the cylinder, and increase consequently its capacity
5, the arrangement described and illustrated in Sheet I., Fig. 1, for
opening the valve P, when the pressure in the interior of the cylinder
would become insufficient to keep this valve open.
Gs, the adapting an air pump to the cylinder, for exhausting the air
contained in the substances in the cylinder above the piston.
7, the general arrangement of the apparatus described and illustrated
in Sheet II. of the Drawings, the entire being supported on a truck pro-
vided with proper rollers or wheels.
Sy, the general arrangement of the apparatus described and illustrated
in Sheet III. of the Drawings, being provided with a moveable sieve or
collander, offering a large surface and a small depth, and a hollow piston
caused to rise in the interior of the cylinder by means of a counterweight.
9, the general arrangement of the apparatus described and illustrated
in Sheet IV. of the Drawings, in which apparatus the hydraulic pressure
is transmitted to the substances to be acted upon by means of a flexible
impervious bag, which, on being distended by the introduction of the
water in its interior, forms a body of a form similar and concentric to the
vessel for the substances to be pressed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jules Henri Etienne Mareschal, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of December,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
A. G. BRADE.
J. H. E. MARESCHAL. (L.S.)