IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR IMPARTING PRESSURE TO THE CONTENTS OF SILOS
Year: 1884

page_text: I JOHN MAUDE of West Vale Greetland near Halifax in the County of York,
Worsted Spinner and Farmer, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR IMPARTING PRESSURE TO THE CONTENTS OF
SILOS" to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to construct, apparatus for imparting a con-
siderable pressure upon the material placed in silos which apparatus is simple, easy
of application and with little power a pressure of three hundred pounds per square
foot, can be put upon the contents of silos.
I construct any silos as follows:-I pass one or more rods through the floor of
the silo, according to the size of the same, the rods pass through the bottom of the
silo, and have cotters or nuts and large washers, at their lower end, they pass
through the silo, and, through the covering and frame work, above which is a
washer and collar, between the washer and the cover or platform is applied by
hydraulic pressure which will impart any amount of pressure required; a spring
may be placed upon the cover in the form of a carriage spring and about six feet
long, the collar is fixed, at intervals required, by set screws, keys, or other means,
and holes or notches may be formed the shaft. In lieu of hydraulic power,
pressure can be brought to bear by leverage.

page_text: covers can be drawn up and secured by chain and hook W, or other suitable
attachment, or when filling a chain may be attached at each end to the two covers
of the two compartments F* and F³ as shewn, the weight of one cover counter-
balancing the weight of the other, or the crab can be placed upon the frame work
or covering of the chambers, or outside as shewn at Fig. 1, the chains can be
changed from one to another, and so facilitate their manipulation. When filling
the silos, the grass I prefer not to be chopped, but put in whole just as cut, as any
amount of pressure can be put upon it, by this means, silos can be filled without
delay, and with comparatively little labour and expense; when filled, the boards K
are left about one half an inch apart, to allow the escape of atmospheric air and
oxygen, whilst the pressure is being put on, they are afterwards closed up and left
under pressure, and made perfectly airtight by a rod passing over the top of the
battens and clamping them together by screws and nuts, when opening the silo for
use, one or more battens can be taken off, at a time according to the quantity used,
and the ensilage is cut and taken out as required, and the battens replaced to keep
out the atmospheric air until used up, a door is also provided to each compartment,
and can be used if required for both filling and emptying silos.
By the above arrangements it will be seen that the pressure put on is vertical,
and in the centre of each compartment of the silo, and is equally distributed over
the whole surface, also there is no strain upon the sides of the silo. It will also be
obvious that my apparatus can be readily applied to existing barns, or other
outbuildings. The covers by chain and crab can be raised in five minutes, and let
down in five minutes, and forty or sixty tons pressure put upon the contents of the
silo in ten minutes as before described, the springs alone will give a following and
retaining pressure of twenty tons independent of the hydraulic apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that
I do not claim the use of the hydraulic alone, for imparting pressure to the
contents of silos, as it has been previously described in Potter's Specification
N° 18078; and for raising a weighted cover, it is described in the Royal
Agricultural Society's Report on the Practice of Ensilage page 198, I declare that
what I claim is :-
1. Imparting central following pressure to the contents of silos, by the
combination of circular central rods, hydraulic pressure and springs as shewn and
described.
2. The general arrangement of silo and apparatus for filling, pressing, and
manipulating ensilage as shewn and described.