IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANICAL PRESSES
Year: 1884

page_text: . I, ARTHUR HEATHORN, of 50 Choumert Road, Peckham, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANICAL PRESSES to be as follows:-
وو
My invention relates to a novel form of press, for pressing concrete or other
material by mechanical power, in a simple and efficient manner; and to the form
of the moulding box connected thereto, to facilitate the manipulation, filling, and
discharge, of the concrete or other block before and after compression.
My device consists of a bedplate and double overhead girder, united by vertical
standards, a moulding box being placed on the bottom bed plate. Attached to the
upper part of the press and revolving freely in suitable bearings, is a shaft, cut for
half its length with a right handed screw, and half with a left handed screw, which
can be rotated by a suitable handle provided with spokes; or in any other similar
manner. Upon this screw shaft are fitted two nuts, provided with rollers, which
bear upon the upper girders of my frame. To each of the said nuts is swung
a blunt pointed bar, the end of which beds in a suitable notch or bearing in the
cover of the moulding box.
The moulding box consists of a back and two ends fixed to the bedplate, the
floor and front side of the box being pivotted at the bottom corner so that it can
fall outwards, and deliver the block when pressed. The moulding strips are laid in
the box, and upon the top of the concrete or other material filled therein, a pressing
board is placed, guided on either side by the fixed back and sides of the moulding
box. The metal cover of the moulding box is placed upon the top of the pressing
board, the said cover being provided with long parallel hooks to act as hinges over
studs fixed in the side pillars. These said hooks allow of the cover following the
pressing board, so as to compress the concrete or other material, whilst at the same
time they serve the purpose of hinges, so that when filling, the cover can be lifted
and thrown back to allow ready access to the moulding box.
The operation of my apparatus is as follows:
The cover being raised, the concrete or other material is filled into the moulding
box, the movable side being bolted or firmly secured in place, and the moulding
strips being first placed inside the box. The presser board is then laid upon the
top of the moist concrete or either material, and the metallic cover turned down.
The pressing levers have their lower ends then placed in notches in the cover

page_text: provided for them, the nuts being drawn to the centre position in which they are
close together, and the pressing bars thus form two sides of an isosceles triangle.
The screw shaft is then rotated so as to cause the nuts and carriages to travel away
from one another, towards the sides of the framing. The inclined pressing bars
with their bottom ends in bearings or notches in the cover, are thus brought
gradually into an upright position, and produce by this movement an enormous
vertical pressure upon the cover, and thus upon the moist concrete or other material
in the moulding box. When a sufficient pressure has been applied, the nuts are
again run in, and the levers, thus released, are lifted out of the way; finally the
top cover is lifted, and the front side of the box is unbolted and turned outwards
by a suitable handle, the pressed block being thus delivered without any, handling.
The moulding strips are readily removed from the block after it has been delivered
from the box.

page_text: COMEDEIN
DIPULEICATION.
I, ARTHUR HEATHORN, of 50 Choumert Road, Peckham, in the county of
Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MECHANICAL PRESSES," and in what manner the same is to
be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention relates to a novel form of press for pressing concrete or other
material, by mechanical power, in a simple and efficient manner, and to the form of
the moulding box connected thereto, to facilitate the manipulation, filling and
discharge of the concrete or other block before and after compression.
In order that my invention may be the better understood, I now proceed to
describe the same, reference being had to the drawings hereto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved device.
Figure 2 is a plan of the same.
Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section of the same.
Like letters refer to similar parts in the different figures.
A is the bed plate and B B the overhead double girder frame united to the lower
bed plate by the vertical pillars or tie rods C C. The moulding box consists of a
back D, and two sides D₁, securely bolted to the bed plate A. The floor and the
front side E E, cast or made in one piece, is pivoted at the bottom corner e, so that
the front and bottom together are free to turn with the shaft F, in the bearings ff,
on the bed plate A, and thus fall outwards and deliver the concrete block from the
interior of the moulding box. G, Figure 3, is the pressing board placed on the top
of the concrete, and upon this the metal cover H is laid, the said cover being
provided with the long parallel hook h h, to act as hinges over studs fixed in the
side pillars C. These said hooks allow of the cover H following the pressing board,
so as to compress the concrete or other material, whilst at the same time they serve
the purpose of hinges, so that when filling, the cover can be lifted by the handles K,
and thrown back to allow ready access to the moulding box. Attached to the
upper part of the press and carried in bearings L L, is a right and left handed
screw M, provided with a spoked hand wheel m, by which it can be conveniently
rotated. Upon this screw shaft are fitted two nuts N N, provided with rollers nn,
the said rollers bearing upon the under face of the upper girder frame B B. To
each of the said nuts upon a spindle passing through them is swung a blunt pointed
toggle bar P P, the end of each of which beds in the suitable notches in the cover H
of the moulding box. The upper end of these loose bars P, are conveniently forked
for attachment to the said nuts N N, and are provided with suitable bearings and
caps p p, to allow of the free.swinging of the said toggle bars.
The plate Qis hinged at q to the top of the movable front E of the moulding
box, extending to within a short distance from each end of the said box. This
plate is provided with handles R R at each end to enable the workman to hold the
same against the pressing board as the front of the moulding box is revolved

page_text: outwards. The block is ultimately delivered with the pressing board upon the said
plate for convenient removal.
The operation of my apparatus is as follows:-
The bars P P being swung out of the way, the cover H is raised and thrown
back, and is then held in vertical position by the said bars. The concrete or other
material is filled into the moulding box D, E, upon the moulding strips X, X, first
laid in the bottom of the said box, the movable side and bottom E E, being bolted
or firmly secured in place by the latches S S, or in any other convenient manner.
The pressing board G is then laid upon the top of the moist concrete or other
material, being entered into the box to the extent of about one eighth of an inch,
and the metal cover H is turned down upon it. The lower ends of the toggle
levers P, are then placed in notches in the cover H, provided for them, the two
nuts N N, being screwed to the central position in which they are close together.
The toggle bars thus form two sides of an isosceles triangle. The screw shaft M is
then rotated by the spoked wheel m, so as to cause the nuts to, travel by means of
their rollers, bearing on the under side of the girder frame B, away from one
another, and towards the sides of the framing. The inclined toggle bars P P with
their bottom ends in the notches on the cover H, are thus brought gradually into an
upright position, and produce by this movement an enormous vertical pressure upon
the cover, and thus upon the moist concrete or other material in the moulding box.
When a sufficient pressure has been applied, the nuts are again run in towards
one another, and the toggle bars P, thus released, are lifted out of the way; finally
the top cover H is removed and the front side of the box is unbolted and turned
outwards by means of the handle T, affixed to the hinged spindle F, the pressing
board being kept in place and the block supported by means of the plate Q until it
is free from the machine and can then be readily removed. The pressed block is
thus delivered without any handling, and the moulding strips are readily removed
from the block after it has been delivered from the moulding. box.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1st In a mechanical, press for pressing concrete or other material, a screw shaft
provided with right and left handed screw threads and nuts travelling thereon, the
nuts being provided with rollers to take a bearing upon the under side of the upper
frame, in combination with a pair of toggle levers, to produce great mechanical
pressure upon the said concrete or other material, placed in a suitable moulding
box, substantially as described.
2nd In such a screw and toggle lever mechanical press, for pressing concrete or
other material, the construction of the moulding box with the top cover hinged for
convenient removal, and the front and bottom sides pivoted to turn outwards with
the pressed block, and thus to deliver the same without handling, substantially as
described.
Dated this 24th day of T100K