Improvements in the Manufacture of Bales of Cotton
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Jan., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 6th Oct., 1892-Accepted, 12th Nov., 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Bales of Cotton
I, ARTHUR ELPHINSTONE CUMMINS, at present residing at Spences Hotel,
Calcutta in the East Indies, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
According to the practice at present in vogue a cotton bale is produced by filling
loose cotton into a box and then compressing it to the greatest possible density
either entirely or partially in the box, the cotton being covered by a wrapper of
cloth, which is first placed in the press box, a steel or iron band, wire, rope or other
suitable lashing holds the bale thus formed to as near as possible the same density
as that to which it has been first compressed. The aforesaid wrapper is solely used
to protect the cotton in the bale from injury during transit, such as stain from dust,
dirt &c.
The lashing which encircles the wrapper and cotton is solely used to resist the
expansive tendency in the cotton, and when the compressing forces are released it
holds and keeps the mass in the shape and size known as a bale.
Further in the ordinary method of manufacturing a bale of cotton a piece of gunny
is placed over the top of the press box, another covers the bottom, and the cotton
is then fully compressed between these pieces of wrapper whilst the gunny which
extends beyond the press box, are brought and laid together, top and bottom to
meet each other thus, the top, bottom, and sides of the bale are covered with gunny
the hoop or lashing is then put on over this wrapper and the bale is removed from
the press. Besides this the uncovered ends of the bale have gunny pieces put over
them by stitching pieces of suitable size to the edges of the top and bottom gunnies
before mentioned.
This method of putting on a wrapper combined with the heavy pressure used
to compress cotton nowadays causes the gunny to be seriously damaged, by cracking
or tearing it against the hoop grooves of the top and bottom lashing plates and
thereby rendering it unfit for use for the purposes of a sole independent wrapper
as hereinafter contemplated.
It is easy to see if the top and bottom gunnies be stitched or fastened together,
instead of being merely laid or brought together as is now done, the strength of
this gunny might be utilized to assist in preventing the spring of the bale after the
compressing force is released; but to make a bale in this manner without hoops
is not practicable as the stitching or fastening of the gunny while the bale is in the
press would be too expensive and would take up too much time neither would the
strength of a gunny so damaged and weakened be sufficient for such a purpose and
even if the gunny were made strong enough to hold the bale to the usual density,
it would then be too expensive a method, as compared with the usual method of
an ordinary gunny and hoop. No bale of cotton of any practical utility could
therefore be made in the ordinary way without using a hoop or lashing of some
kind.
By my invention I can manufacture bales of cotton of equal size or density to
those now made, without using hoops or lashing of any kind nothing covering the
bale beyond the ordinary gunny, and in this way I am able to reduce the cost of
baling.
I first prepare a quantity of the gunnies I purpose using for covering the bales,
and if I am making end pressed bales they would take the form of a continuous
band long enough to encircle a bale either woven in one piece or cut from the
ordinary cloth and stitched or fastened with an ordinary sail joint. In the case
of bales which are pressed end wise in the direction of their length the bands would

page_text: be slightly wider than one side of the bale or if the bale is of ordinary long shape
and pressed sidewise the continuous gunny will be slightly wider than the length
of the bale.
.
I then compress a certain quantity of cotton in the press (without a gunny) to
a sufficient density to form the bale I require, and in order to remove from the
press the mass of cotton thus formed I pass a temporary hoop or lashing round it.
When the pressed cotton is removed from the press I put on the prepared wrapper
and then slip the temporary hoop off. The uncovered sides previously covered
with the hoop are now covered with gunny pieces stitched on in the usual way
thus four sides of stitched gunny will then be present to resist all expansion or
spring in the cotton.
In the manufacture of end pressed bales this wrapper is put on by passing it
round the sides and ends of the bale. So that the two sides covered by the hoop
are left exposed in other words, the continous wrapper is put on at right angles
to the direction in which the hoop envelopes the bales and when a jointed gunny is
used, the joint is placed across either of the ends, so as to allow of the full strength
of gunny on the sides where the greatest pressure due to spring in the bale exists
when the hoop is withdrawn when the gunny is put on in this way the hoop can be
readily removed by opening it at the exposed sides and slipping it off from under
the gunny at each end of the bale.
.
By this method of putting on the gunny after the cotton has been pressed it is
not damaged but remains its full strength. Then again there is no time lost in
pressing as any quantity of gunny for baling may be prepared before pressing
operations commence.
The temporary hoop above alluded to can be used over and over again hence
reducing the cost of pressing by the value of the hoops ordinarily used and which
hoops are not easily procurable in the interior of India.
It is a well known fact that cotton will withstand almost any pressure without
injury and after a certain density is reached the expansion or spring which remains
in the cotton when the compressing force is released is almost entirely dependent
on the amount of air remaining in the bale which becomes less and less as the
pressure is increased until all air is expelled at a certain density however practical
limits intervene and prevent very great compression. This density is attained
nowadays with the full power of present presses and is reached at the point where
cotton gives way and springs into the hoop grooves so that it fills them wholly up
and prevents the passing of a hoop or extractor round the bale. Just before this
limit is reached, I find I can by adopting the means herein outlined turn out an
end pressed bale, without hoops of greater density or smaller size than the ordinary
bale manufactured at present with a hoop or wire or other lashing and consequently
when I require a bale made without hoops of equal size to the ordinary bale I use
so much pressure as will ensure ordinary gunny resisting the spring which occurs
when that pressure is removed.
The amount of compressing force to be used therefore depends on the strength
of the gunny and the ultimate size of the bale. Should I require a very small
ultimate size of bale with only the ordinary gunny the compressing force required
will probably be greater than the practical limit above explained will admit of
and in order to overcome the difficulty of the cotton springing into the hoop grooves
I employ lashing plates with moveable filling blocks for filling up these grooves
during the time that a bale is being compressed. After pressure on the cotton has
been completed, these blocks can be removed so as to admit of passing a hoop or
extractor through the spaces, and over the cotton in the usual way or 1 may use
lashing plates supplemented by thin steel or iron plates over the whole surface
acted on including the hoop grooves and pass the temporary hoop around these
plates as well as around the bale.
The plates can afterwards be slipped out along with the temporary hoop after the
gunny is put on.
It is possible to use an extractor made in a similar manner to the ordinary one

page_text: now used or other suitable machine or device for removing the pressed bale of
cotton from the press after it has been pressed and to the gunny thereover and
then remove it but at present I prefer to use a temporary hoop when making end
pressed bales, and when making the ordinary shape of bale I prefer using steel
plates connected by removable tie rods or straps so that it is only necessary to
uncouple these straps and slide the plates away from under the gunny by pulling
them from either end.
Dated this 13th day of January 1802
:
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Bales of Cotton.
I, ARTHUR ELPHINSTONE CUMMINS, at present residing at Spence's Hotel,
Calcutta, in the East Indies, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
According to the practice at present in vogue a cotton bale is produced by
filling loose cotton into a box and then compressing it to the greatest possible
density either entirely or partially in the box, the cotton being covered by a
wrapper of cloth, which is first placed in the press box, a steel or iron band, wire,
rope or other suitable lashing holds the bale thus formed to as near as possible the
same density as that to which it has been first compressed. The aforesaid wrapper
is solely used to protect the cotton in the bale from injury during transit, such as
stain from dust, dirt &c.
The lashing which encircles the wrapper and cotton is solely used to resist the
expansive tendency in the cotton and when the compressing forces are released it
holds and keeps the mass in the shape and size known as a bale.
•
Further in the ordinary method of manufacturing a bale of cotton a piece of
gunny is placed over the top of the press box, another covers the bottom, and the
cotton is then fully compressed between these pieces of wrapper whilst the gunny
which extends beyond the press box, are brought and laid together, top and bottom
to meet each other thus, the top, bottom, and sides of the bale are covered with
gunny the hoop or lashing is then put on over this wrapper and the bale is
removed from the press. Besides this the uncovered ends of the bale have gunny
picces put over them by stitching pieces of suitable size to the edges of the top and
bottom gunnies before mentioned.
This method of putting on a wrapper combined with the heavy pressure used to
compress cotton nowadays causes the gunny to be seriously damaged, by cracking
or tearing it against the hoop grooves of the top and bottom lashing plates and
thereby rendering it unfit for use for the purposes of a sole independent wrapper as
hereinafter contemplated.
It is easy to see if the top and bottom gunnies be stitched or fastened together,
instead of being merely laid or brought together as is now done, the strength of
this gunny might be utilized to assist in preventing the spring of the bale after the
compressing force is released but to make a bale in this manner without hoops
is not practicable as the stitching or fastening of the gunny while the bale is in
the press would be too expensive and would take up too much time neither would the
strength of a gunny so damaged and weakened be sufficient for such a purpose
and even if the gunny were made strong enough to hold the bale to the usual
density; it would then be too expensive a method, as compared with the usual
method of an ordinary gunny and hoop.. No bale of cotton of any practical utility
could therefore be made in the ordinary way without using a hoop or lashing of
some kind.
.Mant
By my invention I can manufacture bales of cotton of equal size or density to

page_text: those now made, without using.hoops or lashing of any kind nothing covering the
bale beyond the. ordinary gunny, and in this way I am able to reduce the cost of
baling.
I
I first prepare a quantity of the gunnies I purpose using for covering the bales,
and if I am making end pressed bales they would take the form of a continuous
band long enough to encircle a bale, either woven in one piece or cut from the
ordinary cloth and stitched or fastened with an ordinary sail joint. In the case of
bales which are pressed end wise in the direction of their length the bands would be
slightly wider than one side of the bale, or if the bale is of ordinary long shape
and pressed sidewise the continuous gunny will be slightly wider than the length
of the bale.
I then compress a certain quantity of cotton in the press (without a gunny) to a
sufficient density to form the bale I require, and in order to remove from the press
the mass of cotton thus formed I pass a temporary hoop or lashing round it. When
the pressed cotton is removed from the press I put on the prepared wrapper and
then slip the temporary hoop off. The uncovered sides previously covered with
the hoop are now covered with gunny pieces stitched on in the usual way thus four
sides of stitched gunny will then be present to resist all expansion or spring in the
cotton.
In the manufacture of end pressed bales this wrapper is put on by passing it
round the sides and ends of the bale, so that the two sides.covered by the hoop are.
left exposed, in other words, the continuous wrapper is put on at right angles to
the direction in which the hoop envelopes the bales and when a jointed gunny is
used, the joint is placed across either of the ends, so as to allow of the full strength
of gunny on the sides where the greatest pressure due to spring in the bale exists
when the hoop is withdrawn-when the gunny is put on in this way the hoop can be
readily removed by opening it at the exposed sides and slipping it off from under
the gunny at each end of the bale. :
By this method of putting on the gunny after the cotton has been pressed it is
not damaged but remains its full strength. Then again there is no time lost in
pressing as any quantity of gunny for baling may be prepared before pressing
operations commence.
. The temporary hoop above alluded to can be used over and over again hence
reducing the cost of pressing by the value of the hoops ordinarily used and which
hoops are not easily procurable in the interior of India.
It is a well known fact that cotton will. withstand almost any pressure without
injury and after a certain density is reached, the expansion or spring which remains
in the cotton when the compressing force is released, is almost entirely dependent
on the amount of air remaining in the bale which becomes less and less as the
pressure is.increased until all air is expelled at a certain density however practical
limits intervene, and prevent very great compression. This density is attained
nowadays with the full power of present presses and is reached at the point
where cotton gives way and springs into the hoop grooves so that it fills them
wholly up, and prevents the passing of a hoop or extractor round the bale. Just
before this limit is reached, I find I can by adopting the means herein outlined turn
out an end pressed bale without hoops of greater density or smaller size than the
ordinary bale manufactured at present with a hoop or wire or other lashing and
consequently when I require a bale made without hoops of equal size to the ordinary
bale I use so much pressure as will ensure ordinary gunny resisting the spring which
occurs when that pressure is removed.
..
The amount of compressing force to be used therefore depends on the strength of
the gunny and the ultimate size of the bale. Should I require a very small ultimate
size of bale with only the ordinary gunny the compressing force required will
probably be greater than the practical limit above explained will admit of and in
order to overcome the difficulty of the cotton springing into the hoop: grooves I
employ lashing plates with moveable filling blocks for filling up these grooves,
during the time that a bale is being compressed. After pressure or the cotton has

page_text: been completed, these blocks can be removed so as to admit of passing a hoop or
extractor through the spaces, and over the cotton in the usual way or I may use lashing
plates supplemented by thin steel or iron plates over the whole surface acted on
including the hoop grooves and pass the temporary hoop around these plates as well
as around the bale. The plates can afterwards be slipped out along with the
temporary hoop after the gunny is put on.
It is possible to use an extractor made in a similar manner to the ordinary one.
now used or other suitable machine or device for removing the pressed bale of
cotton from the press after it has been pressed and to slip the gunny thereover and
then remove it but at present I prefer to use a temporary hoop when making end
pressed bales, and when making the ordinary shape of bale I prefer using steel
plates connected by removable tie rods or straps so that it is only necessary to.
uncouple these straps and slide the plates away from under the gunny by pulling
them from either end.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what [
claim is :-
1. The improved process or method of making a cotton bale consisting in first
compressing the mass of cotton to form the bale without a gunny-second extracting
it when so formed from the press either with a temporary hoop an extractor or
other like means or device-third applying around it a gunny and then withdrawing
the extractor or device.
2. A bale of cotton pressed and secured without hoops or lashing but held intact.
by a ring of gunny or wrapper cloth placed around it without joint along the sides
which are subjected to greatest strain and with side pieces subsequently sewn on
substantially as described.
3. The methods substantially as hereinbefore described for manufacturing bales:
of cotton.
Dated thic fith day of Dotahou 1902.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.