NEW METHODS AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF HYDRAULICK PRESSES FOR PRESSING CLOTH AND PAPER, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1814

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MATTHEW
MURRAY, of Leeds, in the County of York, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twelfth day of March, in the fifty-fourth year of His reign,
did give and grant unto me, the said Matthew Murray, my executors, adminis
trators, and assigns, His special licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,.
during the term of fourteen years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "NEW METHODS AND IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF HYDRAULICK PRESSES FOR PRESSING CLOTH AND PAPER, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES;" in which Letters Patent there is contained a proviso,
obliging me, the said Matthew Murray, under my hand and seal, to cause
a particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within two calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same (relation
being thereunto had) may more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Matthew Murray, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly
described and ascertained in and by the Drawings and references hereunto.
annexed, and the following description thereof, that is to say:-
First, for pressing and packing soft or elastic substances (that take up
much room), such as cotton, wool, wollen goods, &c., &c., I cause the top and

page_text: bottom parts of the press to move or approach each other both at the same
time, whereby the goods may be pressed into one half the space that the rising
cylinder of the press passes through, and at the same time admit a considerable
extension between the top and bottom, and without raising the bale when
pressed so far from the floor as to be inconvenient in sewing up or completing
the package. In the common way the bottom part of the press only having
the action upwards, rises too far (in many cases) above the floor to be con-
veniently useful.
Secondly, in hot-pressing and other cases where great power is required,
I make the wrought-iron sweards or sides of the frame with short projections
at each end in form of a T, and let them into a correspondent notch in the end
of the fixed top and bottom of the press, instead of passing them through
mortice holes in the top and bottom, with a cotter or pin passing through
each end of the sweard, as in the old method, by which new contrivance one
sweard can be. taken out at a time or put in without disturbing any other part
of the press, and left at its full strength, without being wounded by pins, or
cotter holes; the other parts of the press are the same as in common use.
The third and last improvement consists of an indicator, for ascertaining
nearly the degree of pressure at any one time on the press; also to shew when
it recedes from pressure. It consists in a combination of proportionally
unequal cylinders moving in water, having their action in the opposite or
contrary order to the common water press; the last cylinder acting upon a
column of mercury in a glass tube, with a graduated scale for denoting the
weight. This principle may be carried to any extent within the strength. and
perfection of the materials employed, and will be useful in pressing of cloth
where too little or too much pressure effects the quality and colour.
also be usefully employed for the weighing of heavy bodies.
It may
I do declare that the three above-mentioned principles comprehend the real
object of my Invention, and in order for the better understanding how the
above may be reduced to practise, I further declare that although I vary my
mode of construction as circumstances may require to produce the effect
intended, yet I principally adhere to the methods herein described, and as
being best calculated to be understood from the Drawings and description
thereof, as the same is described in the Drawing or Plan hereunto annexed.
.Figure 1 is an elevation of the packing press for soft substances. A, A,
situation of the moveable top; B, B, of the moveable bottom. C, a double
tooth'd rack, fixed to the top of the cylinder D, and working into the two
strong toothed wheels E, E; F, F, two wrought-iron strong tooth'd racks,
working also into the wheels E, E, and moving freely up and down in the

page_text: sockets G, G, and connected with the moveable wrought-iron top piece A.
The action of this press is obvious, as, when the water is forced, under the
cylinder D, the rack, with its moveable bottom B, will be forced upwards,
while the, racks F, F, with their moveable top A, will be pulled downwards,
till the bale is compressed as much as is required; the water may then be
discharged from D by the usual means, when the superior weight of the
rack C and bottom B, it will descend and lift up the top piece A to the
extreme height of the press, making it ready to receive another. bale. I must
here remark that this action may be obtained by, strong chains passing over
these wheels, performing the duty of the rack teeth, but will not alter the
principle or effect. The teeth may be of any figure capable of producing the
greatest strength. H, II, H, H, parts of the frame for supporting the whole;
I, I, two rollers for confining the racks to the wheels.
Figures 2, 3, 4, views of the iron frame of a strong press, put together by
the improved sweards. A, A, A, A, the form of the T-ended solid sweards,
fixed in their metal top and bottom parts B, B, and kept in their situations by
means of the dovetailed slots C, C, which are made to be taken in and out,
and put in at pleasure. The principle is so obvious as to need no further
description, only observing that four or more sweards may be used instead of
two (if necessary).
Figure 5, the indicator attached to the external cylinder of a water press.
A, copper pipe leading to the small cylinder B, against which the pressure of
the water acts in proportion as its area is contained in the area of the internal
cylinder C; D, a cylinder attached to the cylinder B, and moving freely up
and down with it in the leathers E, E; F, a small cylinder, one-tenth of the
area of the cylinder D, and firmly attached to the last or largest cylinder G,
and moving up and down freely with it in the leathers H, H; I is a small
iron cistern containing mercury, fixed to the inside of the receiver K, with
holes near the top to admit the pressure of the water contained in K, to act
upon the mercury in I; L, M, a glass tube and graduated scale rising by tons
from twenty to two hundred and sixty, but any other proportion might be used
where smaller or larger pressures are necessary. In this case the proportions
of C to B are as four hundred to one; the proportions from D to F are ten to
the diameter of G is four inches, and when forcing the water into the
receiver K, will have to act against a resistance equal to the weight of a
column of mercury of its own diameter; the height of the mercury showing
the weight in tons in the scale M for small pressures; and for weighing heavy
goods I omit the small cylinders D, B, and make use only of the cylinder
motions G, F; it is necessary to observe that these cylinders must be perfectly
one;

page_text: smooth and true, made of good bell metal, and move up and down in the
leathers with the least possible friction. D and G are also hollow, to admit
the small piston F and iron cistern I. The receivers K, K, must be kept full
of water, but any small leakage in the leathers will not alter the power of the
instrument for indicating the pressure on the materials acted upon by the
press.
In witness whereof, I, the said Matthew Murray, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fourteen.