Improvements in Apparatus for Compressing Cotton or other Materials into Bales.
Year: 1888

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Compressing Cotton or other
Materials into Bales.
I, ARTHUR ELPHINSTONE CUMMINS of 118 Haverstock Hill in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
In the Specification of a former Patent granted to me No. 1005 in the year 1885 I
described a press in which two three or more filling boxes were used for delivering
material into a bale chamber to make up a bale-and the bale chamber was provided
with grids or movable fingers which retained the material in the bale chamber when it
had once been delivered into it. The bale chamber was carried at the end of a
swinging arm and brought first over one filling box to have material discharged into
it from this box, then brought over another box and so on.
According to my present invention I construct the press in such manner that the
bale chamber after having the contents of two or more feeding boxes delivered into it,
can be brought over the top of the ram. of a powerful hydraulic cylinder so that the
material may be finally compressed in this bale chamber.
I also construct the press without framing for taking any of the strains arising from
the pressing of the material so that the cost of the press is much reduced and greater
freedom in working it obtained. The several filling boxes with their hydraulic rams
and the hydraulic cylinder for giving the final compression I range in a circle-all
independent one of the other. They may be buried in the ground or otherwise held
in place by suitable supports. The horizontal arm which carries the bale chamber I
support upon balls or rollers which rest upon a circular bed so that the bale chamber
may readily be moved round in a circular path.
When the bale chamber has been brought over the top of the hydraulic cylinder I
lock it to this cylinder by locking mechanism sufficiently strong to withstand the
strain that will be brought upon it when the ram of the cylinder is giving the final
compression to the bale of material in the chamber. Preferably I form the top of the
cylinder with an outwardly projecting flange and embrace it with a loose ring which

page_text: has an inwardly projecting flange at the bottom-The upper part of the ring I form
with an internal screw thread around it cut away in vertical segments. The
exterior of the bottom of the bale chamber I make circular and with corresponding
screw segments on its exterior. To lock the bale chamber to the cylinder the ring is
lifted upwards until the screw segments of the ring have passed into the spaces
between the screw segments on the chamber. A partial turn is then given to the
ring to cause the screw segments upon it to lock with the screw segmonts on the
chamber.
In this way the strains caused in compressing the material are carried by the sides
of the cotton boxes and bale chambers and cylinders and hence the need of using
framework to take these strains is done away with.
The ring is supported by a lever carrying a counterbalance weight so that the ring
(the weight of which would be considerable) can readily be raised and lowered.
The same means may be employed for locking the bale chamber to the filling boxes
or other ready means may be provided for locking it to these boxes as the strains
which will come upon them will be comparatively light.
Two bale chambers revolving independently or in conjunction with one another and
one or two sets of filling boxes may be used with one hydraulic cylinder for giving
the final compression.
It is not essential that the filling boxes and hydraulic cylinder should be ranged in
a circle they might if preferred be ranged in any other curve or in a straight line.
Dated this 12th day of March 1888.

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus for Compressing Cotton or other
Materials into Bales.
I, ARTHUR ELPHINSTONE CUMMINS of 118 Haverstock Hill in the County of
Middlesex Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :—
In the Specification of a former Patent granted to me in Great Britain No. 1005 in
the year 1885 I described a press in which two three or more filling boxes were used
for delivering material into a bale chamber to make up a bale and the bale chamber
was provided with grids or movable fingers which retained the material in the bale
chamber when it had once been delivered into it. The bale chamber was carried at
the end of a swinging arm and brought first over one filling box to have material
discharged into it from this box, then brought over another box and so on.
According to my present invention I construct the press in such manner that the
bale chamber after having the contents of two or more feeding boxes delivered into it,
can be brought over the top of the ram of a powerful hydraulic cylinder so that the
material may be finally compressed in this balc chamber.
I also construct the press without framing for taking any of the strains arising
from the pressing of the material so that the cost of the press is much reduced and
greater freedom in working it obtained. The several filling boxes with their hydraulic
rams and the hydraulic cylinder for giving the final compression [ range in a circle-
all independent one of the other. They may be buried in the ground or otherwise
held in place by suitable supports. The horizontal arm which carries the bale
chamber support upon balls or rollers which rest upon a circular bed so that the
bale chamber may readily be moved round in a circular path.
When the bale chamber has been brought over the top of the hydraulic cylinder I
lock it to this cylinder by locking mechanism sufficiently strong to withstand the
strain that will be brought upon it when the ram of the cylinder is giving the final
compression to the bale of material in the chamber. Preferably I form the top of the
cylinder with an outwardly projecting flange and embrace it with a loose ring which
has an inwardly projecting flange at the bottom. The upper part of the ring I form
with an internal parallel thread around it cut away in vertical seguients. The exterior
of the bottom of the balo chamber I make circular and with corresponding threaded
segments on its exterior. To lock the bale chamber to the cylinder the ring is lifted
upwards until the projecting segments of the ring have passed into the spaces between
the projecting segments on the chamber. A partial turn is then given to the ring to
cause the threaded segments upon it to lock with the threaded segments on the
chamber. The locking may also be performed without using threaded segments;
projecting segments engaging each other on a partial twist may be used.
In this way the strains caused in compressing the material are carried by the sides
of the cotton boxes and bale chambers and cylinders and hence the need of using
framework to take these strains is done away with.
The ring is supported by a lever carrying a counterbalance weight so that the ring
(the weight of which would be considerable) can readily bo raised and lowered.

page_text: The same means may be employed for locking the bale chamber to the filling boxes,
or other ready means may bo provided for locking it to these boxes, as the strains
which will come upon them will be comparatively light.
One, two or more bale chambers revolving independently or in conjunction with
one another and one or two or more sets of filling boxes may be used with one or
more hydraulic cylinders for giving tho final compression.
It is not essential that the filling boxes and bydraulic cylinder should be ranged
in a circle, they might if preferred be ranged in any other curve or in a straight
line.
Figure 1 is a horizontal section and Figure 2 a side elevation partly in section of
baling apparatus constructed as above described. Figure 3 is an end view of one
of the bale chambers. Figure 4 a horizontal section on the line 1-2 Figure 5 a
horizontal section on the line 3-4. and Figure 6 a vertical section of one of the bale
chambers with the side doors open. Figure 7 is an end elevation partly in section of
the mechanism for locking the bale chamber to the filling boxes. The gearing is only
shewn applied to one filling box but similar gearing is applied to each box.
A. B. C. are three filling boxes each fitted with a movable bottom which can be
pressed upwards by the ram of a hydraulic press. D is the hydraulic press for finally
compressing the bales. E E are two bale chambers carried by arms from rings F
which can swivel around the fixed cylindrical post G. HH are ball bearings for the rings
to run on. This post can be arranged underneath the floor level when the swivelling
arins would then revolve inside it and inside one another in the form of a crane pillar
having the ball bearings at the bottom and cylindrical roller bearings at top about
floor level to take the overhanging strain of chambers.
As shown in Figures 2. 4 and 5 the bottom part of each bale chamber has a parallel
thread around it, cut away in segments or it may be only cut away in segments and
not threaded. When a bale chamber is to be attached to one or other of the filling
boxes it is brought over the top of the box and two T headed catches H* which are
jointed to the top of the box are turned upwards and inwards and their T heads made
to take hold on the shelves of pockets cast in spaces between the projecting segments
and so hold it down.
In order to be able to turn the catches H* into position to lock the bale
chamber or to unlock it, cach catch H* has a bevil pinion I upon its axis into which
gears a corresponding pinion 12 on inclined axes I-these axes are geared by other
bevil pinions with a horizontal axis J which can be turned whenever desired by
turning an axis K by a lever arm which extends from it-the axis K having upon it a
bevilled toothed are gearing into one of the bevil pinions on the axis J or these catches
may be worked by a rack and spur gear, or in any other suitable manner.
To attach the bale chamber to the top of the cylinder of the hydraulic press D--this
cylinder has around it at the top an outwardly projecting flange D1 and is embraced
by a ring K within which are segments of parallel thread or projecting segments
without thread corresponding with the threaded segments or projecting segments
without thread which project from the bottom of the bale chamber. When the balo
chamber has been brought over the cylinder of the press the ring is raised until an
inwardly projecting flange around its lower end comes against the flange which. is
around the top of the cylinder. A partial turn is then given to the ring to cause its
threaded segments or projecting segments to engage with the threaded segments or
projecting segments on the bale chamber. The ring is turned by a Tommy bar
inserted in a hole in a suitable position, in ring, or by hand, pulling on pockets cast in
ring or suitable knobs or projections for hand, the power necessarily being very
small.
In order to be able to readily raise the ring whenever it is required to do so the
ring is supported on one end of lever arms L which at their opposite ends have
weights L hung on to them nearly to balance the weight of the ring. The ring being
thus approximately balanced it can readily be raised by a man putting his foot on a
treadle M and putting increased weight on the weighted end of the lever arms.
Each bale chamber is at the bottom formed with a series of parallel slots through

page_text: two of its opposite sides for the fingers N (see Fig. 6) which are to retain material in
the bale chamber to pass through. The fingers are segments of discs and each set of
fingers is carried by an axis O as in bale chambers heretofore made by me.
The bale chambers themselves may be constructed in any suitable manner. I prefer
however to form them in the manner shewn in the drawing.
In this construction two sides of the chamber are made capable of turning on hinge
joints at the bottom. At the top they are drawn together by turning a screw
spindle Ox which has right and left handed screw threads upon it working gunmotal
nuts fitted in pockets cast in the sides and the sides hold between them the top P of
the chamber. The other two sides can be turned around vertical axes Q and can be
locked in their closed. position by bolts R as best seen in Figure 4. When the doors
are closed the bolts R are slidden endwise to lock them by excentrics on the spindles Q.
In order to be able to turn the spindles each spindlo has upon it a worm wheel S
into which gears a worm T on a spindle U which can be turned by a hand wheel V
upon it.
As before stated the bale chambers might be made to run upon a straight or
curved track-to bring them first over the filling boxes and then over the finishing
hydraulic cylinder but I prefer to mount them upon arms which swivel around or
inside of a central post as above described.
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 I
claim is:
1. The combination of the filling boxes fitted with moveable bottoms the hydraulic
cylinder the balo chamber capable of being brought in succession over the filling boxes
and over the cylinder, the grid fingers which prevent the return of all material fed
into the bale chamber, and locking catches for locking the bottom of the balo chamber
to the top of the filling boxes and to the top of the hydraulic cylinder when the bale
chamber has been brought over them.
2. The combination of the filling boxes and the hydraulic cylinder ranged in a
circle the bale chamber or chambers carried by arms capable of turning around or
inside of a central post the grid fingers which prevent the return of all material fed
into the bale chamber and locking catches for locking the bottom of the bale chamber
to the top of the filling boxes and to the top of the bydraulic cylinder when the bale
chamber has been brought over them.
3. The combination of the moveable bale chambers fitted with grids to prevent the
return of material fed into them the filling boxes and the locking catches for locking
the lower part of the bale chambers to the filling boxes when they have been brought
over them.
4. The construction of apparatus for compressing cotton or other material into bales
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings annexed.
Dated this 29th day of November 1888.
A. E. CUMMINS.