IMPROVE- MENTS IN BALING PRESSES
Year: 1884

page_text: ADIONAL
SPECIFICATION.
I ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of the firm of A. M. and Wm Clark of
53 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of
Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BALING PRESSES (a communication to me from abroad by James M.
Tichenor of Irvington in the County of Essex and State of New Jersey, United
States of America) to be as follows:-
"
This Invention relates to presses for baling hay in which the mechanism for
which United States Letters Patent were granted June 30th 1874, No 152,608, is
employed to compress the hay, and the improvements consist in the application of
certain plates or boards to the inside of the press for loosening the bale when
pressed therein to facilitate its reinoval.
The lifting device is attached by brackets to the ends of the press and is
employed at each end of the press, two operators working the two lifters simul-
taneously. This device consists of a lifting rack which is operated by a lever
pivoted between brackets at each end of the press. The lifting rack consists of a
wooden bar, to the outer side of which a cast iron ratchet plate is fastened while a
wrought iron strap is attached to its inside and fitted at its lower end to receive
a batten which extends beneath the movable follower and projects through a slot
in the end of the press to engage in a slot in the end of the strap. The lever
carries two pawls pivoted in a fork formed in the end of the lever. One pawl is
pivoted in the slot upon the centre or fulcrum of the lever while the other is
pivoted below the fulcrum and therefore moves with the lever. As the lever
is worked up and down by the operator, one of the pawls sustains the rack while
the other lifts.
To loosen the bale when pressed and properly secured, I construct the press of
greater width than the required size of the bale to be pressed and insert inside the
ends two false sides or looseners which serve to support the hay while being pressed
but relax their pressure upon the bale as soon as the doors of the press are opened.
This is effected by securing strips to the inside of the doors transversely near their

page_text: ends the strips fitting lengthwise against the ends of the press and supporting the
looseners at a distance from the ends equal to the breadth of the strips leaving a
space between the ends and the looseners of about two inches.
The space between the two looseners is equal to the required size of the bale and
when the doors are opened after the bale is pressed, the removal thereby of the
strips from behind the looseners permits them to fall back about two inches, thus
enlarging the cavity of the press about four inches and permitting the ready
removal of the finished bale.
The strips are tapered or bevelled at the part which is first forced between the
ends and the looseners when the doors are closed, thus enabling them to push the
looseners to their proper positions for pressing a bale and as these strips are secured
to the doors they cannot get lost or out of place.
The follower fits the space between the looseners and its lifting batten has a slot
formed in the middle of each loosener from the bottom upward and there are slots
in the ends of the press. In order to prevent the hay from getting into the
slots when the press is filled, I place over each slot a self adjusting plate or slide
having its lower end resting upon the follower and kept close against the loosener
by cleats. These plates are made long enough to cover the slots in the looseners
when the follower is in its lowest position, and slide upward in the cleats as the
follower rises when pressing a bale. It may here be observed that the looseners
do not move at the bottom of the press but are kept in position by cleats or other
appropriate means.

page_text: "
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of the firm of A. M. and Wm. Clark, of
53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Fellow of the Institute of Patent
Agents, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BALING PRESSES (a communication to me from abroad by James M. Tichenor of
Irvington in the County of Essex and State of New Jersey, United States of
America,) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This Invention relates to presses for baling hay, in which the mechanism for
which United States Letters Patent were granted June 30th, 1874, No 152,608, is
employed to compress the hay; and the improvements consist in the application of
certain plates or boards to the inside of the press, for loosening the bale, when
pressed therein, to facilitate its removal.
The operation of the machine will be understood by reference to the drawings in
which. Figure 1 is an end view or elevation of the press; Figure 2 a vertical
section taken through the centre line of Figure 1; and Figure 3, a partial plan of
the machine with the top door removed.
A represents the sills upon which the press is built; B, the ends secured thereto,
and extending to the top of the press. CC are the front and back of the press,
the upper halves being formed into doors C¹, each of which is strengthened by a
batten, D, the ends of which project beyond the body of the press at B, and are
secured, when the press is in use, by the iron loops E, held by the eyes F, fastened
on the ends B near the batten.
The doors C' are hinged in the usual way at G, and close at their upper edge
beneath the top door, H, which is hinged by one edge at I, and kept closed when
in use by loops E, secured to the ends B near the top of the press passing over the
ends of the batten-D³. The loops for the doors O₁ are shown hinged in a single
piece of metal, an eye, F, being formed at each end for one loop. By this con-
struction the loops strain against one another, the metal receiving the tension and
wholly relieving the wood to which it is attached.
If desired, the loop for the batten D¹ in the top door can be secured to the same
piece of metal as the other two, thus removing the tension somewhat from the
wood.
The lifting device formerly patented, as above stated, is shown attached by
brackets J to the end B in Figure 1 and is employed at each end of the press, two
operators being employed to work the two lifters simultaneously.
Only the lifting rack K' is shown at the left end of the view in Figure 2; but
the lever and pawls are fully illustrated at the right side of the same figure. The
lifting rack consists of a wooden bar, K, to the outer side of which a cast-iron
ratchet plate, K¹, is fastened, while a wrought-iron strap, L, is attached to its inside
and fitted at its lower end to receive the batten L, which extends beneath the
moveable follower M, and projects through the slot N in the end of the press, to
engage in the slot K" in the end of the strap L, attached to wooden bar K and
rack K.
A lever O, is pivoted between the brackets J at each end of the press, and
carries two pawls pivoted in a fork formed in the end of the lever. The pawl P is
pivoted in the slot upon the centre or fulcrum Q of the lever, while the pawl P¹ is
pivoted below the fulcrum Q, and therefore moves with the lever head. As the
lever is worked up and down by the operator, one of the pawls sustains the rack,
while the other lifts. By the projection x on the pawl P, it can be thrown out of
gear with the rack K³, and by pressing a lower extension of the pawl P¹ its upper
end is drawn out of the rack and the bed is free to fall.
To loosen the bale when pressed and properly secured, I construct the press of
greater width than the required size of the bale to be pressed, and insert inside the

page_text: ends B B two false sides or looseners, R, which serve to support the hay while
being pressed, but relax their pressure upon the bale as soon as the doors C and H
are opened. This effect I produce by securing strips s to the inside of the said
doors transversely near their ends, the strips fitting lengthwise against the ends B B
and supporting the looseners R R at a distance from the ends equal to the breadth
of the strips s leaving a space between the ends B and the looseners R of about two
inches.
The space between the two looseners is equal to the required size of the bale and
when the doors C and H are opened after the bale is pressed the removal thereby
of the strips from behind the looseners permits them to fall back about two inches,
thus enlarging the cavity of the press about four inches and permitting the ready
removal of the finished bale.
The strips S S are tapered or beveled at the part which is first forced between
the ends B and the looseners when the doors C₁ are closed, thus enabling them to
push the looseners to their proper positions for prossing a bale, and as those strips
are secured to the doors C and H, they cannot get lost or out of place.
In Figure 3 one of the doors C₁ is shown closed, with the strip & fitting between
the end B and the loosener R, and the other door C¹ being shown open, the beveled
end of the strip s above referred to, attached to it, as plainly shown. The
follower M fits the space between the looseners R R, and its lifting batten L¹
requires a slot formed in the middle of each loosener from the bottom upward, for
the same purpose as the slots N in the ends B B. These slots are marked R¹, and
in order to keep the hay from getting into them when the press is filled, I place
over each slot a self-adjusting plate or slide, T, having its lower end, t, resting upon
the follower M, and kept close against the loosener R by cleats U. These plates T
are made long enough to cover the slots R¹ in the looseners R when the follower M
is in its lowest position, and slide upward in the cleats U as the follower rises when
pressing a bale. It may here be observed that the looseners R do not move at the
bottom of the press, but are kept in position by cleats or other appropriate means.
In Figure 3 the plate T is shown in place, and the foot is seen resting on the
follower M, that it may be pushed upward as the follower advances. The foot of
the plate is shown in Figure 2 as bent to give it a bearing on the bed.
From the above description it will be seen that the appliances I have shown
constitute a complete and effective machine for the purpose intended.
I would observe that I claim the lifting devices for the present machine merely
in combination with the follower of the press.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. The looseners R³, having central slots, in combination with the ends B, and
doors as set forth.
2. The combination with the looseners R' arranged as described, of doors
carrying strips 8, as set forth.
3. The combination with the looseners having slots, of self-adjusting plates,
arranged, as described, to prevent the access of hay, &c, to said slots, as specified.
Dated this 30th day of October 1884.