IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FASTENINGS OF THE METALLIC HOOPS OR BANDS EMPLOYED IN BALING COTTON AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Holmes, of the Firm of Messieurs Morris and
Holmes, of the City of Manchester, Packers, and James Corbett
Holtzaphell Slack, of the same Place, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FASTENINGS OF THE METALLIC HOOPS OR BANDS
EMPLOYED IN BALING COTTON AND OTHER SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 16th October 1866, and dated the 19th April 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Holmes and James
Corbett Holtzaphell Slack at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 19th April 1866.
We, JOHN HOLMES, of the Firm of Messieurs Morris and Holmes, of the
City of Machester, Packers, and JAMES CORBETT HOLTZAPHELL SLACK, of the
same Place, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FASTENINGS OF THE METALLIC HOOPS OR BANDS EMPLOYED
IN BALING COTTON AND OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as follows:-.
In securing bales of cotton or other substances that require to be tightly
pressed in bydraulic or other presses it is customary to fasten the ends of the
metallic hoops or bands surrounding the bale together by means of rivets or
studs.
. Now our Invention consists in fastening the ends of the hoops or bands,
together by means of indents or slots and projections, fitting together and
forming the requisite fastening. In performing our Invention we use a punch
which is pressed against the two ends of each hoop when on the bale by a

page_text: lever or otherwise, one side of this punch is forced through the ends of the
hoop and the other part of the punch forms only an inclined indentation in the
hoop; two or more indentations may be made in the ends of the hoop; as
soon as the pressure on the bale is released the bale in expanding tightens
together the two ends of the hoops, and the edges of the indentations of the
hoops securely hold the ends together.. These fastenings can also be released
on applying pressure to the bale, thus avoiding the necessity of cutting off the
rivets or studs as now customary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Holmes-and- James-Corbett Holtzaphell Slack in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th October 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
HOLMES, of the Firm of Messieurs Morris and Holmes, of the City of Man-
chester, Packers, and JAMES CORBETT HOLTZAPHELL SLACK, of the same Place,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Holmes and James Corbett Holtzaphell Slack, Her special
license that we, the said John Holmes and James Corbett Holtzaphell Slack,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John
Holmes and James Corbett Holtzaphell Slack, our 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 THE FASTENINGS OF THE METALLIC HOOPS OR
BANDS EMPLOYED IN BALING COTTON AND OTHER SUBSTANCES," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that we, the said John Holmes and James Corbett
Holtzaphell Slack, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their, or one of our or 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John Holmes and James Corbett
Holtzaphell Slack, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and
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 :-
In securing bales of cotton or other substances that require to be tightly
pressed in hydraulic or other presses it is customary to fasten the ends of the
metallic hoops or bands surrounding the bale together by means of rivets or
studs.
Now our Invention consists of fastening the ends of the hoops or bands
together by means of indents or slots and projections fitting together and
forming the requisite fastening. In performing our Invention we use a punch.
which is pressed against the two ends of each hoop when on the bale by a
lever or otherwise, one edge of the projection on this punch is forced through.
the ends of the hoop, and the other part of the projection forms only an inclined -
indentation in the hoop; two or more indentations may be made in the ends
of the hoop. As soon as the pressure on the bale is released the bale in
expanding tightens together the two ends of the hoops and the edges of the
indentations securely hold the ends of the hoops together. These fastenings
can also be released on applying pressure to the bale, thus avoiding the
necessity of cutting off the rivets or studs as now customary.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into operation, we will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 represents a side view of an apparatus suitable for making the
indents or slots and projections in the ends of a hoop or band; Figure 2 is an
edge view of the same; Figures 3, 4, and 5 are three views of the punch
and die; and Figures 6, 7, and 8 are three views of the ends of a hoop or
band fastened together.
a is a lever, fixed to or forged with the frame b, in which are dovetails for
the die c, shewn in Figures 3 and 4; the moveable lever d is hinged to the
frame 6 by the fulcrum stud e, which is fast on the lever d; the stud f passes
eccentrically through the stud e and forms the joint of the toggle link g, the
other end of which is jointed to the second link h, which is jointed to the block
i, in which is fixed the punch j; the block i is connected to an arm, which is
jointed to the stud ; the punch j is shewn in Figures 8, 4, and 5, with three
projections. k, l, m, but the number and shape of the projections may be
varied. The die c is provided with recesses corresponding to the projections
on the punch. The Drawing, Figures 1 and 2, represent the apparatus and
the punch in the positions they occupy when the indentations have been made

page_text: in the ends of the hoop, but when the apparatus is to be used the punch and
die must be about one inch apart, as shewn in Figure 9, and this is effected
by lowering the lever d into the position shewn by dotted lines in Figure 1.
The first part of the descent of the lever d draws the punch out of the inden-
tations in the hoop, but as soon as the punch is clear of the hoop the shoulder-d'
on the lever d comes against the shoulder g¹ of the link g, consequently the
remaining portion of the descent of the lever d moves the links 9 and h and:
the punch block i at a greater speed until the punch is brought to the required
distance from the die. The mode of operation is as follows:-When the bale
is in the press, and the requisite compression has been given, the two ends of
the hoop are brought together and overlap each other for about three inches as
usual, the end of the frame is then inserted between the bale and the ends
of the hoop; the lever d is then raised and the first portion of the rise causes
the punch to approach the die rapidly, as at that time there is little or no
resistance to be overcome; but during the latter portion of the rise of the
lever d the leverage is increased owing to the stud f then coming into action,
and the final compression with the force required for displacing portions of the
metal in the two ends of the hoop is obtained, when the lever d regains its
original position, as shewn by the full lines in Figure 1. A guard is connected.
to the frame b to hold the hoop when the punch is drawn out of the indenta-
tions. In Figures 6 and 7 it will be seen that the outer edge of the projection k
of the punch and the recess in the die act like a pair of shears and cut a slot.
with a notch in both ends of the hoop, while the other part of the projection k
only forms an indentation in the metal. The projection acts in a similar
manner but makes a plain slot in the metal, and the projection m makes
another plain slot at right angles to the others, as shewn in section in Figure 8.
The object of the slot and indentation produced by the projection m is to
prevent the ends of the bands springing apart, and the object of the slot and
indentation produced by the projection & is to prevent the lateral displacement
of the ends of the hoop or band. As soon as the indentations have been
made in all the ends of the hoops or bands the pressure on the bale is released,.
and the bale in expanding tightens the joint as before described. When it is
requisite to take the hoops off the bale the bale must be compressed to slacken
them, it is then necessary to insert a piece of iron between the bale and the
hoops, and on striking gently the fastenings with a hammer they will spring
open, thus avoiding the necessity of cutting off the heads of the rivets or studs,.
as now customary. We wish to remark that the pressure required for making
the slots and indentations in the hoops may be obtained by differential screws
or by a bydraulic ram or other equivalents.

page_text: Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described a convenient
mode of carrying the same into operation, we wish to observe that we do not
intend to limit ourselves to the mechanism for obtaining pressure, nor to the
peculiar shape or number of the slots and indentations shewn ; but what we do
claim is, the improved mode described for fastening together the ends of
metallic hoops or bands by displacing portions of the metal and thereby
dispensing with rivets or studs.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Holmes and James Corbett
Holtzaphell Slack, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Sixteenth day of October, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
JOHN
ULMES.
(L.S.)
JAMES C. H. SLACK. (L.s.)