IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDROSTATIC AND OTHER Poroane
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederic Robinson and Edward Cottam, of Pimlico,
in the City of Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Engineers, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDROSTATIC AND OTHER Poroane."
Sealed the 22nd September 1858, and dated the 30th March 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederic Robinson and
Edward Cottam at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 30th March 1858.
We, FREDERIC ROBINSON and EDWARD COTTAM, of Pimlico, in the City of
Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDROSTATIC AND OTHER
PRESSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved method of constructing the parts of
hydrostatic and other presses when applied for expressing oil, juice, moisture,
or other liquid matter from substances holding such in combination, or for the
packing of dry or other goods, whereby the labour of performing the combined
operations of charging, pressing, and discharging are greatly abridged, and the
wear and tear of the materials employed in many of the foregoing operations
greatly diminished, and this we effect-by so constructing the box which we use
as a chamber for the reception of the charge, with a moveable end or bottom,
that in the operation of pressing it is carried forward by the piston or presser, to
which sufficient stroke is given to admit of its moving the end or bottom through

page_text: the entire length or height of the box, as the case may be, for the double pur-
pose of facilitating the charging of the box, and the discharging of the same by
forcing the charge from the mouth of the box when the substance submitted
to its action has been sufficiently pressed. The opposite end of the box to
that described we close with a moveable end or block, which we suspend or
otherwise attach to the press,, which will admit of being removed by suitable
mechanical means and the application of a slight force. The mouth of the box
being thus uncovered and exposed, will admit of its being charged and its
contents discharged (when pressed) with facility and dispatch, without the
removal of the box from the press, thereby avoiding a considerable waste of
labour and time.
The foregoing improvements apply equally to vertical and horizontal presses,
and whether worked by hydrostatic or screw power, the mode of attaching and
moving the block or mullet, and the form of the box being adapted to either
mode of applying the pressure; but in all cases the proposed arrangements
have the same object in view, viz., the more ready means of charging the box,
and discharging the same by means of the presser, instead of by hand as is
usual in such operations.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederic Robinson and Edward Cottam in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 29th September 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, FREDERIC
ROBINSON and EDWARD COTTAM, of Pimlico, in the City of Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
us, the said Frederic Robinson and Edward Cottam, Her special licence
that we, the said Frederic Robinson and Edward Cottam, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Frederic Robinson
and Edward Cottam, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,

page_text: the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDRO-
STATIC AND OTHER PRESSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Frederic Robinson and Edward Cottam, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, 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 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 we, the said Frederic Robinson and Edward Cottam,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and accompanying Drawing, that is to say :--
This Invention relates to an improved method of arranging the parts of hydro-
static and other presses when applied to the expressing oil, juice, moisture, or
other liquid matter from substances holding such in combination, as well as for
the packing dry or other goods into bales, whereby the labor of performing the
combined operations of charging, pressing, and discharging are greatly abridged,
and where wrappers are used to enclose the substance to be pressed, the wear
and tear, and consequent cost, is greatly diminished; and this I effect by using"
a strong box or chamber for the reception of the goods, having a moveable
end or bottom (as the case may be) resting upon or against the end of the
piston, to which sufficient stroke or motion is given to admit of its moving the
bottom through the entire height or length of the box, for the double purpose
of pressing the goods submitted to its action, and for the charging and dis-
charging the same with facility and dispatch. The box is placed as usual in
such machines) between the pillars or sides of the press, and rests (when used
vertically) on studds or shoulders projecting from the sides or cylinder of the
press, and having liberty to rise and fall with the piston by the friction of the
charge against. the sides of the box or otherwise, through such a distance as
may suffice (on the descent of the piston) to relieve the charge of goods (when
sufficiently pressed) from contact with the face of the mullet or press block,
such rise being limited by studs or other convenient means. When the mullet
is rélieved from the pressure of the charge, it may be easily withdrawn from"
the press, so as to uncover or expose the mouth of the box, and admit of its'
contents being discharged therefrom; for which purpose the mullet is suspended
from rollers, which run on guide rails, and is moved by suitable appliances.
While the mullet is so withdrawn from the press, the operation of charging'
or discharging the box of its contents may be readily effected; in the former

page_text: case, by placing the goods on the follower or false bottom, and allowing it to
descend, together with the piston, either as the successive layers are placed
upon it, or in bulk, by which methods of working a considerable amount of
time and labor is saved.
These presses are sometimes employed in the arts, both vertically and hori-
zontally, to both of which modes of working the Invention is equally applicable
by simply varying the method of moving the mullet or press block and box,
and by giving such a form to the box as is most suitable for the intended
object.
Having stated the object of the Invention, its application will be more fully
understood by reference to the accompanying Drawing and description of a
vertical hydrostatic press, in which the same letters of reference are used to
designate similar parts in the several Figures.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a vertical hydrostatic press; Fig. 2 is a side: 1
view of the same; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the box and parts in connec-
tion with it; Fig. 4 is a sectional plan of the same. A is the cylinder; B is.
the piston; C, C, are the pillars or sides of the press; D is the head; E is the.
mullet or press box, which is supported on four rollers or wheels F, F, F, F,
running or guided on two bars or rails G, G, which are conveniently supported
at one end by carriages attached to the head D, and at the other by studs or
bolts suspended from the ceiling or roof of the press room. Upon these rails
the mullet is moved when it is desired to withdraw it from the press for the
purpose of discharging or recharging the box H, which is channelled on the
inner surface of the sides, and lined with perforated plates as usual in such
presses; it is free to move in a vertical direction, and is guided by lugs
I, I, which slide freely on the rods K, K; L, L, are lugs, through which
the rods K, K, pass, on which screws are formed to receive adjusting nuts
M, M, which are fitted so as to regulate the extent of the movement of
the box H, the lower nuts supporting its weight and limiting its descent, its
rise being limited by the upper nuts; N, N, N, N, are lugs on the top edge.
of the box, through which pins 0, 0, 0, 0, pass, so that their ends may project
over the sides of the box for the purpose of retaining (when desired) a loose
plate which is inserted in the mouth of the box on the top of the goods to be
pressed; P, P, are two levers by which the pins 0, 0, 0, 0, are moved forward
or withdrawn, and are connected with them by means of the cross bars Q, Q;
R (Fig. 3) is a loose plate formed of two sheets of metal with intervening ribs.

page_text: or fillets, so as to leave hollow spaces or channels between them, the lower-
plate being perforated to facilitate the escape of the liquid from the goods.
under pressure; S is the follower or moveable bottom of the box; it is chan-
nelled on the upper side and faced with a perforated plate to conduct the oil-
away from the goods to a gutter or channel T, which may either be cast with or
affixed to the bottom edge of the box H, as found most convenient. The gutter
passes entirely round the lower edge of the box and receives the oil, which
having passed through the perforated lining plates U, runs down the vertical
channels V, and is conducted through the discharge pipe W into any suitable
receptacle arranged to receive it. This Invention is particularly adapted for
pressing goods which require to be enclosed in a box, in order to operate more'
effectually upon them. The false bottom of the box or follower S, which rises
with the piston, is shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 3 at its extreme height, the
previous charge of pressed goods being also shewn by dotted lines above the
top edge of the box ready for removal, after which the following is ready to
receive a fresh charge before it is permitted to descend, the workman then
deposits the bags or wrappers containing the material to be pressed succes-
sively. or in bulk on the follower S, which is then permitted to resume its place
at the bottom of the box, the goods descending with it. When the box has
been thus charged and covered by the plate R, the mullet E which had been
previously withdrawn from the press to the position of the dotted lines, Fig. 2,'
is then returned to its place by means of a rope working over a pulley, (or any
other suitable contrivance,)- the piston B with the follower S raised by the.
application of the moving power, and the goods compressed between the face of
the follower S and that of the mullet E. In most instances (from the
elasticity of the goods) the lateral pressure against the sides of the box will
cause sufficient friction against the linings to raise it through the allotted dis--
tance, until stopped either against the face of the mullet or the upper adjusting
nuts M, M, on the side rods K, K. When the goods shall have been sufficiently'
pressed, the piston may be lowered just enough to release the mullet from the'
pressure against its face, which distance must necessarily vary with the'
elasticity of the goods pressed. When the mullet is relieved it may be again
withdrawn from the press to the position indicated by the dotted lines in
Fig. 2, and the goods having been ejected from the box by the piston, they'
may be removed from the box, either in successive portions as the follower is
gradually raised by the piston for that purpose, or in bulk when raised to its
full extent. By adopting either of these modes of working, the ordinary'
method of discharging the box by forcibly dragging out the bags or wrappers

page_text: and their contents is dispensed with, to the great preservation of the wrappers,
and the saving of time and labour. When goods are required to be pressed
which possess little or no elasticity, and consequently produce little or no
lateral pressure against the sides of the box, the pins 0, 0, 0, 0, may be used
to confine the plate R on the top of the charge, by which the ascent of the
box is insured. The strength of these pins must of course be sufficient to
sustain the weight of the box, and also to prevent their being broken by the
expansive force of the goods when the box is lowered. The retrograde move-
ment of the piston need not be more than is sufficient to liberate the mullet,
and in general about one-eighth of an inch will suffice, but when the friction
of the box is used as a substitute for the pins 0, 0, 0, 0, the piston will pro-
bably require to be lowered one inch or more, depending upon the elasticity
of the goods. In either case this movement of the box is limited by the
adjusting nuts M, M, or conjointly with the face of the mullet, the nuts M, M,
admitting of regulation for various kinds of goods. It will be obvious that
when the mullet has been removed from the press, the pins 0, 0, 0, 0, must
be withdrawn by means of the levers P, P, so as to liberate the plate R, which
may be taken out of the way either by hand or any other suitable means. It
will be found that the most convenient and expeditious mode is to eject the
whole charge clear of the mouth of the box, and to slide it off the follower S
on to a light hand wagon, which may be brought up to the front of the press
for that purpose, so that the charge may thus be carrid away in bulk and dis-
posed of in detail on a contiguous bench, leaving the box free to be loaded or
charged with unpressed goods, which being loaded on a similar wagon at the
bench, may be taken to the press ready for depositing in the box. By this
arrangement the successive charges may be prepared and disposed of with the
least amount of labour during the time the press is in operation.
Although we have described what we conceive to be the simplest means for
effecting the object, we do not restrict ourselves to the precise form or arrange-
ment of the subordinate details herein described, so long as the main features
of the Invention are preserved, nor do we confine the application to any
particular description of press, as it is applicable to all kinds where boxes are
used, the appliances for moving the mullet and regulating the movement of
the box being adapted to the particular case. As, for instance, when applied
to a horizontal press, the mullet may be moved sideways on guide rails, or
may be raised vertically by means of a rope, pulley, and counterweight, as
would naturally suggest itself to any intelligent mechanic.
Having now fully described our Invention, and the mode of putting the same.

page_text: in practice, we would have it understood that we do not claim any of the parts
individually, but what we do claim is, the combination of a stationary box and
a moveable mullet or press block as described, and used for the purpose
and in the manner described, whether such be moved and regulated by the
means and appliances described, or by any known suitable and convenient
equivalents.
practice, we
It understood that we do not claim any of the parts
individually, but what we do claim is, the combination of a stationary box and
a moveable mullet or press block as described, and used for the purpose
and in the manner described, whether such be moved and regulated by the
means and appliances described, or by any known suitable and convenient
equivalents.
In witness whereof, we, the said Frederic Robinson and Edward Cottam,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
day of Sep-
tember, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-eight.
Witness to the Signature of Frederic Robinson,
29th Sept 1858,
AMIT H. RENTON,
12, Buckingham Street, Adelphi.
(L.S.)