Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Apr., 1887
Complete Left, 30th Jan., 1888
Complete Accepted, 2nd Mar., 1888
We, ARTHUR GREENWOOD of Albion Works, Leeds, in the County of York,
Engineer, and HERBERT LAMBERT of 18 Brudenell Mount, Leeds, aforesaid, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to provide a facile means for consolidating meal
formed from cotton seed, linseed, and other oleaginous products, and bringing the
same to a suitable shape for transmission to the oil
press.
i
The meal to be consolidated is supplied to a jacketted kettle, in which a vertical
stirrer spindle is mounted centrally.
In the bottom of this jacketted kettle, a longitudinal opening is made for the
reception of a flanged frame, made preferably of cast steel. This casting forms the
head of a hydraulic press, the follower of which takes somewhat the form of the cake
to be moulded. This frame is cast with radial or longitudinal and transverse bars, of
a taper form in cross section, which divide up the opening in the frame. Beneath
these bars, the ends of the frame are grooved to receive a horizontal sliding plate of
steel, which, when in place, closes the bottom opening in the kettle. This plate is
fitted to, and carried by, the piston rod of a horizontal hydraulic cylinder, suitably
arranged to receive, at opposite sides of its piston, water under pressure for moving
the slide in opposite directions.
Fitted loosely around the flanged frame which forms the head of the hydraulic
press and the mouth piece of the kettle, is a mould frame, which is intended to slide
telescopically thereon, and yield to the upward pressure of the press follower. When
raised by the follower for the purpose to be presently explained, the mould frame is
engaged by spring catches, and held firmly in its raised position.
Immediately below the mould frame, the press is fitted with a pair of guide rails to
receive a carriage, which is run into and drawn back from the press.
This carriage serves to present a series of cake trays (covered by a woollen
wrapper) to the mould frame, which, as the trays are severally presented thereto,
drops from its suspended position to meet the tray.
The carriage is so formed as to allow the follower of the press to rise up through it,
lift the cake tray from the carriage, and thereby force up the mould frame until it
attains its highest position.

page_text: Supposing, now, the kettle to be charged with meal, the attendant, in order to set
the apparatus in action, pushes forward the carriage carrying the cake tray, until it
stands immediately over the follower of the press and beneath the mould frame. In
doing this, he will automatically release the mould frame from its suspending catches,
leaving the frame free to drop to its lowest position. At the same time, this
movement of the carriage will open an exhaust valve at the back of the piston of the
horizontal hydraulic cylinder, and thereby cause the water to accumulate in front of
that piston, and draw back the sliding plate.
A charge of meal will then be delivered from the kettle into the mould frame, and
so soon as this is effected, the sliding plate will be caused, by the return motion of its
piston, to close the opening in the kettle.
So soon as this occurs, the follower will rise, lift the cake tray, and force up the
now filled mould frame, thereby compressing its contents against the sliding plate,
which is enabled to resist the upward pressure, it being backed by the dividing bars
of the mouthpiece of the kettle.
When the mould frame has risen to its highest position, and is seized by the catches,
as before explained, the follower retires, bringing down the tray, which it replaces on
the carriage. The tray, however, on leaving the mould frame, brings with it the
compressed meal. The attendant then draws the carriage towards him, folds the
woollen wrapper over the moulded cake, and placing it with the tray on one side, lays
another tray with a wrapper on the carriage, and pushes forward the carriage, to
repeat the operation..
To ensure a proper automatic action of the hydraulic apparatus, not only is the
exhaust valve above mentioned actuated by the in-thrust of the carriage, but the back
movement of the piston of the horizontal cylinder is, by a suitable tappet action,
caused to raise a pair of weighted levers, the fall of which will operate the valves of
the two hydraulic cylinders, thereby effecting the return of the sliding plate, to cut
off the feed of meal, and the descent of the follower, after compressing the meal
contained in the mould frame.
These weighted levers are raised by the action of a tappet carried by the slide on its
return motion, and the lever which controls the working of the piston in the
horizontal cylinder, is, when raised, retained in its elevated position by a suitable
catch.
When the slide and its piston are drawn back, the slide tappet will trip this catch,
and allow the suspended lever to fall, thereby shifting the valves of the horizontal
cylinder to reverse the action of the piston.
By means of dash pots, the descent of both weighted levers is suitably retarded, to
time the forward movement of the sliding plate and the descent of the follower to the
requirements of the work.
The shifting of the valve, to effect the rise of the follower, is caused by the action
of the tappet of the slide upon the weighted lover of the vertical cylinder at the
forward movement of the slide.
Instead of using a carriage for presenting the trays to the mould frame, they may
be presented by the attendant, and hand levers will in that case be used for starting
the machine.
So also the cut-off slide and the follower may be actuated either by steam, or by
cams, levers, or excentrics, as an equivalent for the hydraulic means of propulsion
above mentioned.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus to be Used in the Manufacture of Oil Cake.
We ARTHUR GREENWOOD of Albion Works, Leeds, in the County of York,
Engineer, and HERBERT LAMBERT of 4 Regent Terrace, Leeds, aforesaid, 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:-
The object of this invention is to provide a facile means for consolidating meal
formed from cotton seed, linseed, and other oleaginous products, and bringing the
same to a suitable shape for transmission to the oil press, where the oil is extracted by
pressure and the meal is converted into cakes.
The meal to be operated upon supplied to a jacketted kettle supported on side
frames at a suitable elevation, for the application below the kettle of a novel arrange-
ment of moulding and compressing apparatus. The kettle is fitted as usual with a
central vertical stirrer, and in the bottom of the kettle an aperture is made for
discharging the meal in certain regulated quantities into trays, which are presented to be
filled by the attendant, and which then form virtually the bottom of a mould, to which
sufficient pressure is applied to ensure the proper consolidation of the meal delivered
to the trays.
In the accompanying Drawings,
Fig. 1 is a plan view of our improved oil cake apparatus.
Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the same, taken in the line 1. 2 of Fig. 1 ;-and
Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section, taken in the line 3. 4 of Figs. 1 and 2.
In these Figures, A A is the framing, upon which the cylindrical jacketted kettle B
is mounted.
Bearing upon a central footstep in the kettle, is the shaft of the stirrer C, which
receives rotary motion from any prime mover.
D is a vertical hydraulic press situate immediately below the discharge opening of
the kettle, for imparting pressure to the measured quantities of meal, and E is a
horizontal hydraulic cylinder for working a cut-off sliding plate, the use of which will
be presently explained.
The aperture in the bottom of the kettte is fitted with a flanged frame F, made
preferably of cast steel. This casting constitutes the head of the hydraulic press D,
the follower D¹ of which, takes somewhat the form of the cake to be moulded. This
frame F is cast with longitudinal and transverse webs, of a taper forin in cross section,
which divide up the opening in the frame. Below these webs the ends of the frame
extend, and these extensions are grooved horizontally on their inner face to receive a
horizontal sliding plate of steel E' connected to the plunger of the hydraulic
cylinder E. This plate E', when in the position shewn in Figs. 2 and 3, shuts off
communication between the kettle and the press. The horizontal hydraulic cylinder E

page_text: is suitably arranged to receive, at opposite sides of its piston, water under pressure for
moving the plate E in opposite directions, for the purpose of alternately cutting off
the discharge of meal and of supplying the meal to the trays brought up in succession
to receive a charge.
Fitted loosely around the flanged casting which forms the head of the hydraulic
press and the mouth piece of the kettle, is a mould frame G, which is intended to slide
telescopically thereon, and yield to the upward pressure of the press follower. When
raised by the follower for the purpose to be presently explained, the mould frame is
engaged by a pair of spring bolts g g, and held firmly in its raised position. These
bolts slide horizontally in sockets on the framing for the purpose of taking into lugs
formed on the end plates of the mould frame G.
They are propelled inwards to engage with the mould frame by coiled springs,
which surround them, and their back movement is produced by wedges g¹, which
enter slots in the bolts, and slide on guides on the framing.
Immediately below the mould frame, a pair of guide rails H is provided to receive
a carriage H, which is run into and drawn back from the press D by hand, or it may
be automatically.
This carriage serves to bring under the mould frame G, while in its raised position,
a series of cake trays h covered by a woollen wrapper. As the trays are severally
brought into position, the spring bolts are caused to release the mould frame, which
then drops into the tray, and the mould is thus closed ready to receive a charge of meal.
This release of the bolts is effected by means of a pair of tappets /² on the tray
carriage striking the wedges g' g', which, passing further into the slots of the holts,
force them back against the pressure of their springs.
The carriage H, which consists of a skoleton frame mounted on wheels, carries the
trays on its upper surface, and it allows the follower D' of the press D to rise up
through it, lift the forward cake tray from the carriage, and thereby force up the
mould frame which rests on the tray, to its highest position.
Supposing now the kettle to be charged with meal, the attendant, in order to set
the apparatus in action, pushes forward the carriage carrying the cake tray into the
dotted position of Fig. 2, when it will stand immediately over the follower of the press,
and beneath the mould frame. In doing this, he will automatically release the mould
frame from its suspending bolts, as above explained, leaving the frame free to drop to
its lowest position, that is, onto the tray h, when the mould will be closed. At the
same time, this movement of the carriage will open an exhaust valve at the back of
the piston of the horizontal hydraulic cylinder E (as will be more particularly referred
to hereafter), and thereby cause the water to accumulate in front of that piston, and
draw back the sliding plate E¹.
A charge of meal will then be delivered from the kettle into the mould frame, and
so soon as this is effected, the sliding plate will be caused, by the return motion of its
piston, to close the discharge opening of the kettle, such plate being slidden forward
in its guides in the casting F, and backed by the webs of that casting.
So soon as this occurs, the follower will rise, lift the cake tray, and force up the
now filled mould frame, thereby compressing its contents against the sliding plate,
which is enabled to resist the upward pressure, being backed by the webs of the
casting F.
When the mould frame has risen to its highest position, and is seized by the catch
bolts, as before explained, the follower retires, bringing down the tray, which it
replaces on the carriage. The tray, however, on leaving the mould frame, brings
with it the compressed meal. The attendant then draws the carriage towards him,
folds the woollen wrapper over the moulded cake, and placing it with the tray on one
side, replaces it by a second tray furnished with a woollen wrapper.
He then pushes
forward the carriage, to repeat the operation.
To ensure a proper automatic action of the hydraulic apparatus, not only is the
exhaust valve above mentioned actuated by the in-thrust of the carriage, but the back
movement of the piston of the horizontal cylinder is, by a suitable tappet action,
caused to raise a pair of weighted crank levers 1 1', the fall of which will operate the

page_text: valves of the two hydraulic cylinders, thereby effecting the return of the sliding plate,
to cut off the feed of meal, and the descent of the follower after compressing the meal
contained in the mould frame.
These weighted levers I I' are mounted abreast of each other, but on pivots
projecting from the opposite side frames, and they are raised to the elevated position
of Fig. 2 by a pair of tumbling catches e carried by the slide E', and acting upon the
shorter arms of those levers.
The crank levers are cach connected with a dash pot I*, which dash pots serve to
regulate their fall,
The long limb of the lever I, when raised, rests upon a retaining catch i pendent
from a pin bracketted to the cross bar which carries the hydraulic cylinder E.
The raising of the weighted levers I 1' to the position shewn at Fig. 2, takes place
on the return motion of the slide E' to close the mouth piece F, when the tumbler
tappets e strike the shorter and raised arms of the crank levers. The lever which
controls the working of the piston in the horizontal cylinder, is, when raised, retained
in its elevated position by the catch, but the weighted lever I', on reaching its
highest position, immediately begins to drop, its motion being retarded by its dash
pot [*.
When the slide E', with its piston, is drawn back, a tappet carried by the slide E¹
will trip the catch i, and allow the suspended lever I to fall, thereby shifting the valve
of the horizontal cylinder E to reverse the action of the piston.
This valve may conveniently be an ordinary slide valve, it being furnished with a
rod which projects through the end of the valve box towards the hydraulic press.
Pivotted at a fixed point intermediate of the levers I I', is a spring stop K, the tail
of which is presented to a tumbler tappet on the carriage H¹.
A lateral projection on the end of the stop K works in the plane of the valve rod,
and, by means of the spring of the stop, a tendency is given to it to drop into line
with the valve rod when that rod is in its back position, and thereby to act as a
retaining stop to that rod.
When the carriage is run in to bring a tray below the mould frame, the tumbler
tappet on the front of the carriage will trip the spring stop K, and leave the valve
rod free to move outwards under the pressure of the water in the valve box.
The horizontal cylinder E communicates, at its front end, directly with the
pressure reservoir, and at its rear end with the valve box, which is in communication
with the pressure reservoir, and also with an exhaust pipe.
When the valve rod is held back by the stop K, as at Fig. 2, water under pressure
is supplied to both sides of the piston of the cylinder E, but on the release of the valvo
rod, the pressure of the water in the valve box will shift the valve, and, through that
movement of the valve, bring the rear end of the cylinder E into communication
with the exhaust port of the valve box.
The effect of this will be to draw back the slide E' clear of the month piece of the
kettle.
The back movement of this slide will, through a tappet which it carries, trip the.
retaining catch, and allow the weighted lever I to fall.
This lever carries on its shorter arm, near its fuleruin, a cam projection, which, as
the lever reaches its lowest position, presses on the end of the valve rod, and forces it
back to a position which will allow of the spring stop K falling in front of it, to act
as a retaining stop.
The shifting of the valve to effect the rise of the follower D' of the hydraulic
press D, is caused by the rocking of the weighted lever I', which, when lifted by the
tappet e on the outward movement of the slide E', causes the valve to admit water to
the underside of the press ram, and on falling to its lowest position, causes the valve
to open a communication between the cylinder and an exhaust port of the valve box,
for the discharge of the water below the ram.
Having pointed out the construction of our improved oil cake moulding apparatus,
we will now proceed to explain the mode of working the same, and the sequence of
the operations.

page_text: To mould a cake, the attendant places a tray on the sliding carriage H³, or on a
plate (preferably perforated) resting on the carriage; he will then spread a woollen
cloth or wrapper over the tray, and run the carriage with its tray and wrapper under
the mouth piece F of the kettle. Or if desired, mechanical means, such as that
illustrated at Fig. 4, may be employed for moving the tray and carriages to and fro.
In this Figure, L is a hydraulic cylinder, the piston rod of which is connected at
its opposite ends, by incans of chains, to a pair of chain pulleys 1, which pulleys are
cast with, or affixed to chain pulleys of larger diameter, mounted on stud axles.
The two pulleys are connected together by a chain 12, which is made fast to the
travelling carriage bearing the trays to and from the press.
The valve for supplying the water under pressure alternately to opposite ends of
the hydraulic cylinder L, for the purpose of traversing the carriage to and fro, will be
shifted by the attendant.
Immediately on arriving in position under the mouth piece, the projections / on
the carriage drive forward the sliding wedges, and so withdraw the catch bolts bolts
thereby releasing the mould frame G, which now drops on to the woollen wrapper of
the tray, and makes a closed box of the form of the intended cake. At the same time,
the tappet on the carriage, trips the spring stop K, allowing the valve spindle of
the cylinder E to come out, owing to the pressure in the valve case, thus opening the
back end of the cylinder E to the exhaust, and enabling a constant pressure on the
front of the piston to rapidly open the cut off slide E¹. A charge of meal will now be
delivered from the kettle B to the mould frame. As the slide completes its back
motion, an adjustable stop which it carries comes in contact with the retaining catch i,
trips the same, and releases the weighted lever [. The fall of this lever causes the
lateral-can-projection-which-it carries, to thrust back-the-valve-red, thoroby revorsing
the position of the valve of the cylinder E, and causing the slide E¹ to advance and
close the mouth of the kettle.
On this reversal of the valve, the spring stop K resumes its original position,
preventing the valve spindie coming out until the spring stop is again tripped at the
next advance of the carriage H. Thus, the pressure is maintained at the back end of
the cylinder E, the slide being thereby held in its acting position.
By the return stroke of the slide 1. the meal fed to the mould frame is cut off
from the main supply, and it is then ready to receive the pressure of the follower 1).
The tappets e, as the slide advances, engage with the short arms of the levers II',
thereby raising the weights and the pistons of the dash pots, the lever I being retained
in position by the catch until released at the back movement of the slide. The
lever I', however, falling so soon as released from the pressure of its tappet e, moves
the valve of the press D, and admits water below the ram. So soon as the slide E'
has shut off the communication between the mould frame and the mouth of the kettle,
the follower will rise, and lift up off the carriage the tray, the woollen wrapper,
and the mould frame, thereby compressing the meal against the slide E¹, and at the
same time causing the suspension of the mould frame G by the spring bolts y.
The pressure put upon the meal is maintained until the lever I has reached its
lowest position, when the press valve is reversed, and the water is discharged from
below the ram. The duration of the pressure is regulated by means of the dash pot,
whose resistance may be increased or diminished as desired. On the reversal of the
press cylinder valve, the follower D¹ rapidly falls, and with it the tray containing the
moulded cake, which tray is deposited on the carriage H', leaving the mould frame
suspended ready for the next cycle of operations.
During the interval, the duty of the attendant will be to prepare another
wrappered tray in place of the one to be removed from the carriage. On the fall of
the follower D, the attendant withdraws the carriage, the tappets or projections h³
drawing back the sliding wedges (which actuate the spring bolts) without disturbing
the suspended mould frame G. The loose ends of the woollen wrapper are folded
over the moulded cake, which, with its tray, is then moved on to one of the auxiliary
tables, the prepared tray being advanced on the carriage to replace it under the mould
box.
In this way the operation is again and again repeated.

page_text: Figs. 4 to 7 shew modifications of the means for delivering the meal from the
kettle to the mould frame.
In Fig. 4, the slide E is made double acting, it being formed with a central
opening through which the meal is delivered; thus, at every forward or backward
thrust of the slide, the opening is presented to the meal in the kettle, and the mouth
is then closed, a double length of traverse being provided for the piston in its
cylinder E.
In Fig. 5, the slide El is divided longitudinally into two equal parts. Each half
slido is connected by vertical arms to a horizontal rock shaft e*. Horizontal arms
from these rock shafts connect with a piston rod of a vertical hydraulic cylinder,
which serves to impart the requisite movements to the slides.
Fig. 6 shows an arrangement for ensuring the delivery from the kettle of a
measured quantity of meal, which, after measurement, is supplied to the mould
frame.
In this example, two cut-off slides E' and E2 are used, the same working alternately
to cut off and deliver.
These slides are worked by the pistons of independent hydraulic cylinders E E,
their action being suitably alternated.
Fig. 7 shows a modification of the double slide arrangement, in which the slide E¹
has an opening for the delivery of the meal, as in Fig. 4.
In this example the two slides are operated by the same hydraulic cylinder, the
piston rod of that cylinder being connected to both slides, and moving them alternately
into and out of action.
It will bo understood that when using the double slide arrangement, the lower
slide must be closed before starting the follower D' to compress the meal delivered to
to mould frame.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :—
1st. The arrangement of apparatus above described with reference to Figs. 1, 2,
and 3, for compressing or moulding oil cake meal, in which apparatus the meal is
delivered directly from the kettle into the mould frame, which is supported on and
carried by the ascending follower of the hydraulic or other press.
2nd. The use, in an oil cake moulding machine, of the slide which cuts off the
supply of meal from the kettle or receiver, as the press head for resisting the upward
pressure of the follower of the press.
Doted this 28th dot of Jannare 1888