IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDRAULIC PRESSES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Galloway and John Galloway, both of
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDRAULIC PRESSES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Galloway and
John Galloway at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 15th December 1857.
We, WILLIAM GALLOWAY and JOHN GALLOWAY, both of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDRAULIC PRESSES," to be as follows:-
In compressing cotton and other bulky articles it is often necessary to com-
press a thickness of several feet of the material into a few inches. It is
inconvenient to employ a simple hydraulic press for this purpose, on account
of the great length of the cylinder and ram required, and also because the
extreme pressure is not required until near the end of the operation. We
construct presses with an ordinary hydraulic cylinder and ram at the bottom,
and with another hydraulic cylinder and ram, or a steam cylinder and piston,
or a screw or screws, or levers and ratchets, or similar pressing apparatus at
the top, or vice versa. When a hydraulic cylinder is used it may be of much
smaller diameter than the lower or main cylinder. We compress the material
first by means of the small hydraulic cylinder, or the steam cylinder, or screw
or screws, or other apparatus aforesaid, and thus reduce it into a small

page_text: compass, and the compression is then completed by the large or main hydraulic
cylinder and ram. The follower or plate which is moved by the apparatus
which produces the first compression is secured, if necessary, to the frame of
the press by ratchets or otherwise before the pressure of the main hydraulic
cylinder and ram is brought to bear upon it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Galloway and John Galloway in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 12th June 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
GALLOWAY and JOHN GALLOWAY, both of Manchester, in the County of Lan-
caster, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of ller
reign, did, for Terself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said William Galloway and John Galloway, Her special licence that we, the
said William Galloway and John Galloway, our executors, administrators.
and assigns, or such others as we, tho said William Galloway and John
Galloway, our executors, administrators, and assigus, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN HYDRAULIC PRESSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we,
the said William Galloway and John Galloway, our executors or administra-
tors, by an instrument in writing under our or their hands and seals, or
under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 William Galloway and John Galloway,
do hereby declare the nature of tho said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained.in and
by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:

page_text: Our Invention has reference chiefly to the facilitating of the operation of
making up bales of cotton or other bulky substance which requires to be
rapidly compressed into a small bulk. In the ordinary construction of hydraulic
presses a very lofty or very long press is required, with an extreme length of
ram and cylinder, which, being very ponderous and costly, is expensive in con-
veyance and erection, and involves a most serious loss in cases of accident or
breaking down. We construct a press of the usual height in the columns,
and in the cap or top of the press we fix an inverted cylinder and ram to
compress the cotton down into the box about two-thirds of the required stroke.
The down "follower" is then secured in its position by two strong hanging
iron leaves, which with the ram form the resistance for the lower ram to work
against. When this is secured, the lower and larger ram or rams are put to
work to complete the compression. As the inverted ram has to perform the
lightest duty, it is evident that a smaller diameter and area is sufficient, and
as it is worked by the same pumps as the larger or main ram, a considerable
increase of speed is obtained. In lieu of the inverted hydraulic cylinder, an
inverted steam cylinder may be employed to perform the first part of the
compression in a similar manner.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing is a vertical section of a hydraulic
press constructed according to our Invention; Figure 2 is a plan of the base;
Figure 3 is a plan of the head or cap. The same letters refer to similar
parts in each Figure.
A, A, are the columns of the press attached to and connecting the base B
with the cap or head C; D is the lower or main hydraulic cylinder, and E
is its ram, and F, its follower; G is the upper inverted cylinder fixed in the
head or cap C, and furnished with a piston H, and a piston rod or ram I,
attached to the "down follower" J. The cylinders are provided with cupped
leathers in the usual manner. The piston His also provided with a cupped
leather on each side. The water is supplied to the cylinders from pumps in
the ordinary manner. A pipe from the pumps is connected to each end of the
cylinder G, and furnished with suitable valves. K, L, are two strong cast-
iron hanging leaves or latches, which fit into sockets in the cap, and are pre-
vented from falling out of the sockets by small rollers at a, a, which rest on
the cross frames M, N. These two leaves are pressed towards the centre of
the press by two springs O, P; they can be drawn apart by a hand lever Q.
which is connected by a short link to the leaf L. The spindle 6 of this lever
carries another short lever connected by a rod c to another lever d, whose
spindle carries another short lever connected by a link to the leaf K; R is a
catch for securing the lever Q.

page_text: The lower ram and follower being in the position shewn in the Drawing,
and the upper ram and "down follower" being raised into the position shewn by
the dotted lines, the cotton is introduced in the ordinary manner. The water
is then turned into the upper end of the cylinder G. The escape valve of the
pipe connected to the lower end of the cylinder G is opened, to allow the water
from that end to escape into the cistern which supplies the pumps. The
pressure of the water on the piston H forces down the follower J, compressing
the cotton until the follower reaches the position shown in the section, when
the two leaves K, L, being pressed in by the springs O, P, assume the position
shown in the Drawing. The water is then turned into the cylinder D, and
its ram E and follower F then rise and complete the compression.
The water in the cylinder D is then allowed to escape, and the follower F
descends. The leaves K, L, are then drawn back by the lever Q, and the
water is turned into the lower end of the cylinder G, while the water in its
upper end is allowed to escape into the cistern. The upper ram is thus raised
by the water. The bale having been hooped or secured while under com-
pression, is then removed, and the press is again charged, and so on.
In lieu of forcing down the down follower J by the pressure of the water
on the whole area of the piston II, both ends of the cylinder G may be
connected to the force pipe of the pumps; the pressure will then act on the
area of the ram or piston rod I, and the motion will be more rapid, less water
being required because the water in the lower end of the cylinder will pass
round into the upper end. If, however, this pressure should not be sufficient
to force the down follower J past the ends of the leaves K, L, the lower end
of the cylinder G may then be disconnected from the force pipe and the water
allowed to escape from it into the cistern. In this way three different
pressures, each greater than the preceding, may be brought into action.
Figure 4 is a vertical section of a similar press to that berein-before described,
except that a steam cylinder G is employed in lieu of the hydraulic cylinder G,
in Figure 1; Figure 5 is a plan of the base; Figure 6 is a plan of the cap.
The parts are marked with the same letters as the corresponding parts in
Figures 1, 2, and 3. S is a four-way cock or valve for admitting steam
to either end of the steam cylinder G. The piston H and the stuffing box
are packed with hemp, or metallic packing, or other suitable packing. Tho
action of the press is the same as that of the press shown in Figures 1, 2,
and 3. Figure 7 is a vertical, section of another hydraulic press, in which two
screws T. T, are employed to give the first or light pressure, and the hydraulic
cylinder D to give the final or heavy pressure, as before. Figure 8 is a plan of
the baso B; Figuro 9 is a plan of the cap C.

page_text: The screws T, T, are fixed to the down follower J, and pass through two
long nuts U, U, in the head or cap C. These nuts are geered by spur wheels
to an intermediate wheel, so as to cause them to revolve together in the same
direction, or they may be geered together directly by spur wheels, in which
case one of the screws is made right-handed and the other left-handed. By
causing one nut to revolve, the other nut is also made to revolve, and the two
screws T, T, are advanced or drawn back equally and simultaneously. V is
a bevil wheel fixed on one of the nuts, and driven by another bevil wheel W,
which is driven by a pulley X or otherwise. The leaves or latches K, L, are
similar to those in the other presses hercin-before described. The article to
be compressed is placed between the two followers F and J, the down fol-
lower J is then pressed down upon it by turning the nuts U, U, until the
down follower J passes the leaves K, L, which are immediately forced in by
their springs, the nuts U, U, are then turned back a little, so as to cause the
"down follower" to abut against the leaves K, L, and thus relieve the screws
T, T, and nuts U, U; the leaves K, L, then sustain the heavy pressure or
thrust which is produced by pumping the water into the hydraulic cylinder D,
and which completes the compression. The screws T, T, and nuts U, U, are
thus not exposed to the heavy pressure as they would be if the leaves or
latches K, L, were not employed. When the operation is completed, the
water is discharged from the hydraulic cylinder D, the leaves K, L, are with-
drawn, and the nuts U, U, are turned backwards, so as to screw up the
screws T, T, with the down follower J; a fresh charge may then be
introduced, and the operation repeated.
By means of these compound presses, cotton and other bulky articles may
be readily and quickly compressed into a small space, and the operation of
making them into bales is facilitated. It will be obvious that two or more
hydraulic cylinders may be employed to act on the follower F, and that two
or more hydraulic or steam cylinders may be employed to act on the follower
J, in lieu of employing only one cylinder for each purpose, as shewn in
the Drawing.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that what
we claim is,
First, constructing hydraulic presses with one or more cylinders and pistons
or rams and a follower at each end or at top and bottom, in such manner that
the cylinder or cylinders at one end may be first employed by means of
hydraulic or steam pressure to force its or their follower upon or against the
article to be compressed, and this follower being then temporarily secured by

page_text: latches or fastenings, so as to act as a stop or abutment, the other or main
follower is forced by hydraulic pressure against the article to be compressed,
so as to complete the operation, as herein-before described; also constructing
such compound presses, as aforesaid, with leaves or latches, as herein-before
described in reference to the Drawing.
Second, constructing hydraulic presses with one or moro hydraulic cylinders
and pistons or rams and a follower at one end, and one or more screws and
a follower at the other end in combination with leaves or latches, as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Galloway and John Galloway
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Eleventh day of June, in
the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
WILLIAM NEWTON.
WILLIAM GALLOWAY. (L.S.)
JOHN GALLOWAY.
(L.S.)