IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDRAULIC PRESSES AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED 100DEND
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Wilson, of Patricroft, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
HYDRAULIC PRESSES AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED 100DEND
Sealed the 31st August 1875, and dated the 6th July 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Wilson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 6th July 1875.
I, ROBERT WILSON, of Patricroft, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN HYDRAULIC PRESSES AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as
follows:-
My present Invention consists in certain improvements upon the
Invention for which Letters Patent were granted to me on the 27th
November 1873, No. 3883, instead of the heavy plate or box a described
in the Specification of the said Patent for pressing down the cotton or

page_text: other fibres into the thickness of the bale I make use of a hinged lid
of sufficient weight to effect the same object, and which lid is lifted or
lowered by means of a hydraulic cylinder and ram acting on a chain, or
by a pinion and segment or other equivalents.
When the hinged lid is not heavy enough to press down the fibres it
can be brought down by hydraulic power or by pinion and segment,
or by screws, or by any other suitable means. By this means the com-
plicated machinery above the heavy plate or weighted box referred to
in my former Specification is dispensed with, and all danger to the men
in filling the trunk or press box with the fibres is removed.
The hinged lid above described, or the plate or box c above referred to,
is locked when down by means of T headed bolts fitting below in slots
and fixed above to an eccentric shaft on which a tumbler lever is hinged.
When the tumbler lever is moved in one direction it causes the
eccentrics to release the T headed bolts, and when moved in the other
direction the eccentrics lock the box or lid. The hinged lid may be
locked or fixed down by T bolts or other equivalents acting on an arm
projecting from the lid or by an eccentric shaft.
Another part of my Invention consists in dispensing with the counter-
weight described in the Specification above referred to for bringing
back the rams and follower h, and in effecting the same result by
means of a small hydraulic cylinder and a ram, to which the chain
attached to the follower is connected.
In order to facilitate the entrance and the escape of the water from
the side cylinders of hydraulic presses in which three cylinders are used, I
connect a lever to the valves through which the water enters or escapes,
so that by turning this lever the valves may be fully opened. The
valves are lowered on to their seatings when the pressure is to be
put on.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 30th December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
WILSON, of Patricroft, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Robert Wilson, Her
special licence that I, the said Robert Wilson, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Wilson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN HYDRAULIC PRESSES AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Wilson, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, 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 I, the said Robert Wilson, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, und in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement (that is to say) :-
This Invention consists in certain improvements upon the Invention
for which Letters Patent were granted to me on the Twenty-seventh
day of November, 1873, Number 3883.
In my present Invention I use a hinged lid instead of a heavy plate
or box for pressing the fibres into the trunk, also in certain improved

page_text: TP
before, also in bringing the follower back by means of a hydraulic
cylinder and ram, and in applying levers to lift the admission and
escape valves for the outer cylinders of presses where three cylinders are
used.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood I will
proceed to describe the two accompanying Sheets of Drawings.
°
On Sheet 1, Fig. 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a tranverse section
through the line A, B, on Fig. 1; and on Sheet 2, Fig. 3 is a plan;
Fig. 4 is an end view; and Fig. 5, a cross section through the line C, D.
a is the bottom plate of the trunk into which the fibres are placed,
and b, b, are the sides of the same, which by the side plates b¹are
made about twice the depth or thickness of the bale. To these
sides are hinged the angle doors 6 secured by the bar 68, thus forming
the end of the cotton box. The plates 6* form the ends of the chamber
in which the bale is finished, and they are kept in their places by the
wedge plates 65 which are raised and lowered by the cams 6º, actuated
by the levers b' and ³, see Figs. 1, 3, and 4. The trap door ¿ when
shut forms the under side of the bale chamber and is held in its place
by the slot bolts which are actuated by the lever . The heavy plate
or hinged lid c when down forms the upper side of the trunk; this
plate or lid c is jointed to the sides of the trunk by the trunnions c¹. The
segment c² fixed to the lid c is acted upon by the ram or piston of the
small hydraulic cylinder c³. The ends of the chain care secured to
the socket of the hydraulic cylinder c; the chain passes over the two
pulleys c³ mounted on a cross head on the end of the ram. The chain is
then taken around the segment c², and then around the pulleys c' at
the bottom of the segment. By this arrangement when the ram is
forced out of the cylinder c³ it raises the hinged lid c until it reaches
the vertical position shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 1; and when in this
position the attendants are not only at liberty to fill the trunk but they
are not exposed to any danger of the lid falling upon them during the
operation, and when lowering the lid c it can be done with perfect
safety by the perfect command over it with the regulating valve n. The
three compressing cylinders fand rams 9 are placed horizontally and the
rams are connected to the follower / by a cross pin or cotter in the usual
manner; in this case the outer cylinders are larger than the centre one.

page_text: The outer ends of the cylinders fare connected to the force pumps in the
usual manner. The head of the press & is connected to the opposito
end or bottom piece & by side rods or columns d as in vertical presses
of the usual constructon.
The mode of operation is as follows:-When baling cotton the hinged
plate or lid having been raised as above described to the vertical
position, as shewn by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, and the trapdoor i let
down, as also shewn by the dotted lines, the side plates 6* are then
secured in their places by the wedge plates 6º and the cams 6º, actuated
by the levers 67, 6³. The gunny cloth is then put over the face of the
follower lashing plate hand top lashing plate 7. The trapdoor i must
now be closed by the lever , and secured by the slot bolts ³, actuated
by the lever . The angle doors 6s must now be closed and locked by
the cross bar 6°, see Fig. 4; and after filling the trunk with cotton or
other fibres the plate or hinged lid c is lowered into the trunk by the
hydraulic ram or piston in the cylinder c³. This lowering of the hinged
lid c presses down the fibres to the thickness of the bale, and when fixed
down the hinged lid forms the upper side of the trunk. This lowering
or raising of the lid c may be effected by screws or racks and pinions or
other equivalents. When the plate or lid c has been lowered to the
position required to form the thickness of the bale it is secured by the
T headed bolts c', actuated by the handles c³ and eccentric shaft cº.
compression is then given, first by the centre ram g, which acts on the
follower until the resistance becomes too great for the centre ram
alone, after which the final compression is given by the combined action
of the three rams g. When the cotton has been sufficiently compressed
to hold it in form the plate or lid c is raised to the vertical position, the
trapdoor i and the side plates 6' are released to take off the pressure
from the ends of the bale so as not to injure the fibres by the friction,
and the angle doors 6ª are then opened to allow the lashing of the bale
to be proceeded with while the final pressure is being obtained by the
combined action of the three rams, and when the lashing of the bale is
completed the pressure on the rams 9 is relieved by turning back the
handle m, which raises the valve in the box m', and at the same time
the lever is drawn back to lift the valve in the box to allow the
water from the outside cylinders to escape freely to the supply cistern,
while the water from the centre cylinder escapes through the valve m¹
and pipe m². The pipes and m³ unite in the pipe m³. The water
The

page_text: pressure from the pumps is admitted to the cylinder 2 by the valve »',
which forces the ram outwards, and acting upon the chain h³ passing
over the pulleys h³ and h* attached to the follower h, brings back the
follower with the rams. The finished bale then drops upon the truck j,
and is run out on the tram or roadway. The operations are then repeated
for commencing a fresh bale.
In Figs. 1 and 3 % is the pipe for admitting the water from the pumps
to the cylinders by opening the valve in the box by the handle .
In the first place the water is only admitted to the centre cylinder from
the pumps, and during that time the sido cylinders are supplied through
the pipe by gravity from a supply water cistern, which also supplies tho
pumps; and in order that the side cylinders may have a free admission
of water the valve in the box is lifted by the lever 1, and kept open
until the resistance is equal to the power of the centre ram; the lever l
is then released, and the valve is closed; the handle is then turned
to open the valve in the box k', which allows the water from the pumps
to enter the outside cylinders falso, and the combined force from all
three rams acts upon the bale through the follower & until the final
compression is obtained.
I wish to remark here that I do not limit myself to the use of three
rams and cylinders for giving the final compression, as the number may
be varied, or a single ram and cylinder may be used, nor do I limit
myself to the exact arrangement or mode of working the same.
The improved horizontal presses above described will be found par-
ticularly suitable for up country establishments, as they can be placed
on the floor of a shed, whereby the lofty and expensive buildings here-
tofore generally required are dispensed with; the weight of the press and
the cost are also reduced in proportion to the power obtained.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the
manner of performing the same, I wish to remark that I do not intend
to limit myself to the details set forth, as they may be varied or modified,
and I claim,-
First. The improved horizontal press shewn and described, into the
trunk of which the fibres are loosely placed, and pressed down to the
thickness of the bale by a descending plate or hinged lid, and the final a
compression given by one or more hydraulic rams and cylinders.

page_text: Secondly. The improved mode of constructing and actuating the end
plates 6 and wedges 65 for securing and relieving the ends of the bale,
as shewn and described.
Thirdly. The application of the hydraulic cylinder c³, with the parts
acting in combination therewith, for raising and lowering the plate or
hinged lid c, as shewn and described.
Fourthly. The application of T headed bolts in combination with an
eccentric shaft for locking the hinged lid c, or the heavy plate or weight
box c described in the Patent before referred to, when down, as shown
and described.
Fifthly. The application of the hydraulic cylinder hº, and parts acting
in combination therewith, for bringing back the rams and follower, as
shewn and described.
And, Lastly. The improved arrangement and mode of working the
valves to facilitate the entrance and escape of the water to and from the
cylinders of hydraulic presses, as shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Wilson, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of December, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
DADHD TVIT SONT