IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING GUNPOWDER AND OTHER SUBSTANCES INTO PELLETS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jabez James, of 40, Princes Street, Stamford
Street, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING GUNPOWDER AND OTHER
SUBSTANCES INTO PELLETS."
Sealed the 22nd November 1870, and dated the 2nd June 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jabez James at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd June 1870.
I, Jabez James, of 40, Princes Street, Stamford Street, in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING GUNPOWDER AND OTHER
SUBSTANCES INTO PELLETS," to be as follows :-
:-
My improvements apply to apparatus in which hydraulic or other
suitable pressure is applied to compress gunpowder or other substances
into pellets.
In order that the nature of my Invention may be understood I will
describe the mode in which the operation is now usually performed by
means of hydraulic pressure.

page_text: Between the head of a hydraulic press and the table of the ram there
are arranged three strong plates or slabs. The upper slab is fitted with
numerous punches projecting downwards from it, and this slab is made
to slide laterally in grooves, its sliding movement being effected by
means of a screw worked by hand as in a slide rest. The middle slab is
perforated by numerous holes, one hole corresponding to each of the
punches in the upper slab, these holes forming the moulds or dies for
the pellets. This slab is fitted in the framing of the press so that it
cannot move laterally but can move a little upwards or downwards.
When it is in its lowest position it can be prevented from moving
upwards by stops inserted above it into grooves in the framing of the
press; it can likewise be kept separate from the lowest slab by stops
inserted below it and between it and the lowest slab. The lowest slab
is fitted with numerous punches projecting upwards, one punch corre-
sponding to each of the holes in the middle slab, and these punches at
one part of the operation form the bottoms of the pellet moulds and at
another part of the operation they act as plungers to extrude the pellets
from the moulds.
The working of the apparatus is as follows:-First, the middle and
lowest slabs being in their lowest position, with the under stops inserted
between them, but the upper stops removed, the punches of the lowest
slab are then in the holes of the middle slab so as to form bottoms for
them, but the punches of the upper slab are clear of these holes, the
upper slab is withdrawn to one side so as to leave the upper surface of
the middle slab clear. The holes in the middle slab are then charged
with gunpowder or other substance to be compressed, and when they
are so charged the upper slab with its punches is brought back so as to
stand exactly above the middle slab, each punch coinciding with a hole
below it. The pressure is now applied to raise the middle and lowest
slabs together, and the upper punches entering the holes cause the
substance contained in them to be compressed. The pressure being
then relieved the lowest and middle slabs descend together till the
middle slab is clear of the upper punches and rests on flanges provided
for its reception on the framing. The upper slab is now withdrawn as
before, stops are inserted above the middle slab so as to prevent it from
rising, and the stops between the middle and the lowest slabs are
withdrawn. The pressure is then applied so as to raise the lowest slab,
and its punches rising as plungers in the holes of the middle slab
extrude therefrom the pellets, which are removed. The lowest slab is

page_text: then lowered by relieving the pressure, the holes in the middle slab are
again charged, the stops above it are withdrawn and those below it are
inserted, the upper slab is drawn back to its place over the other slabs,
and the operation is repeated.
Such being the process now known and practised in which there is
considerable loss of time in making the necessary changes of the stops,
and a liability of accident from omitting to make the proper changes of
the stops at the right times, my Invention has for its object the saving
of the time so lost and the prevention of mistake by causing the stops
to be shifted automatically. This I effect by connecting them with the
upper slab by levers and rods or by bands so that the drawing in of the
upper slab causes the lower set of stops to be inserted under the middle
slab and the upper set to be withdrawn from above it, and the
withdrawal of the upper slab causes the lower stops to be withdrawn
and the upper stops to be inserted.
By this means the duty of the attendant is reduced to. the simple
movement of the upper slab, the alternate insertion and withdrawal of
the stops being effected by the same movement.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jabez James in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 2nd December 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JABEZ
JAMES, of 40, Princes Street, Stamford Street, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Jabez James, Her special licence, that I, the
said Jabez James, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Jabez James, my 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,

page_text: 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 APPARATUS FOR
COMPRESSING GUNPOWDER AND OTHER SUBSTANCES INTO PELLETS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Jabez James, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Jabez James, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My improvements apply to apparatus in which hydraulic or other
suitable pressure is applied to compress gunpowder or other substances
into pellets.
In order that the nature of my Invention may be understood, I will
describe the mode in which the operation is now usually performed by
means of hydraulic pressure.
Between the head of a hydraulic press and the table of the ram there
are arranged three strong plates or slabs. The upper slab is fitted with
numerous punches projecting downwards from it, and this slab is made
to slide laterally in grooves, its sliding movement being effected by
means of a screw worked by hand as in a slide rest. The middle slab
is perforated by numerous holes, one hole corresponding to each of the
punches in the upper slab, these holes forming the moulds or dies for
the pellets. This slab is fitted in the framing of the press, so that it
cannot move laterally but can move a little upwards or downwards.
When it is in its lowest position it can be prevented from moving
upwards by stops inserted above it into grooves in the framing of the
press; it can likewise be kept separate from the lowest slab by stops
inserted below it and between it and the lowest slab, The lowest slab
is fitted with numerous punches projecting upwards, one punch corre-
sponding to each of the holes in the middle slab, and these punches at
one part of the operation form the bottoms of the pellet moulds, and at

page_text: another part of the operation they act as plungers to extrude the pellets
from the moulds.
The working of the apparatus is as follows:-First, the middle and
lowest slabs being in their lowest position, with the under stops inserted
between them but the upper stops removed, the punches of the lowest
slab are then in the holes of the middle slab so as to form bottoms
for them, but the punches of the upper slab are clear of these holes;
the upper slab is withdrawn to one side so as to leave the upper surface
of the middle slab clear. The holes in the middle slab are then charged
with the gunpowder or other substance to be compressed, and when
they are so charged the upper slab with its punches is brought back so
as to stand exactly above the middle slab, each punch coinciding with
a hole below it. The pressure is now applied to raise the middle and
lowest slabs together, and the upper punches entering the holes cause
the substance contained in them to be compressed. The pressure being
then relieved, the lowest and middle slabs descend together till the
middle slab is clear of the upper punches and rest on flanges provided
for its reception on the framing. The upper slab is now withdrawn as
before, stops are inserted above the middle slab so as to prevent it from
rising, and the stops between the middle and lowest slab are withdrawn.
The pressure is then applied so as to raise the lowest slab, and its
punches rising as plungers in the holes of the middle slab extrude
therefrom the pellets which are removed. The lowest slab is then
lowered by relieving the pressure, the holes in the middle slab are
again charged, the stops above it are withdrawn, and those below it are
inserted, the upper slab is drawn back to its place over the other slabs,
and the operation is repeated.
Such being the process now known and practised, in which there is
considerable loss of time in making the necessary changes of the stops,
and a liability of accident from omitting to make the proper changes of
the stops at the right times, my Invention has for its object the saving
of the time so lost and the prevention of mistake by causing the stops
to be shifted automatically. This I effect by connecting them with the
upper slab by levers and rods or by bands, so that the drawing in of the
upper slab causes the lower set of stops to be inserted under the middle
slab and the upper set to be withdrawn from above it, and the with-
drawal of the upper slab causes the lower stops to be withdrawn and
the upper stops to be inserted.

page_text: By this means the duty of the attendant is reduced to the simple
movement of the upper slab, the alternate insertion and withdrawal of
the stops being effected by the same movement..
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1, Sheet I., represents a side elevation, Fig. 2, Sheet II., an end i
elevation, and Fig. 3, Sheet II., a plan of so much of a hydraulic press
employed in compressing gunpowder into pellets as is necessary to
illustrate the nature of my Invention.
a is the strong framing of the press; b, the table and upper part
of the ram; and c is the head; d is the lowest slab resting on the
table band fitted with numerous punches (indicated by the dotted red
lines) e is the middle slab perforated by numerous holes, one hole
corresponding to each of the punches in d, which holes form the moulds
wherein the pellets are compressed; f is the uppermost slab which is
fitted with punches (indicated by the red lines) corresponding to the
holes in e. The slab fis attached to a slide 9 which is worked like a
slide rest by a hand screw g¹ in a guiding frame h which is attached to
the head of the press c. k, k, are two bars which form stops inserted
between the lowest slab d and the middle slab e at the front and back of
those slabs; these stops k, k, are connected by rods to opposite ends of a 1
lever k¹ on each side of the framing; the levers ¹ are connected by rods
to levers ² fixed on a spindle 3 which is mounted in bearings at one end
of the framing. On this spindle ³ are fixed two levers 7 and A, one of
which is sloped at the end, and the other / is bent forward. By means
of these connections to the stops / when the lener is pushed over to the 1
right hand they are inserted into the space between the lowest slab d
and the middle slab e, and when the lever is pushed over towards the
left the stops k, k, are withdrawn from between those slabs. m, m, are
two sliding bars mounted in trough-shaped guides m¹ and attached to
endless bands or chains m² which pass round pulleys m³ mounted in the
framing. In mounting the outer of these pulleys I prefer to fit their
pins in slotted holes so as to allow for tightening. The bands or chains
m² are attached to studs n projecting from the slide 9. Thus when the
slide g is moved toward the left hand the sliding bars m, m, are inserted
into grooves formed within the framing above the middle slab e, and
below the upper slab f, and so serve as stops to prevent the middle slab e
from rising. When the slide 7 is moved back towards the right hand
the sliding bars m, m, are withdrawn from the grooves, and thus the

page_text: middle slabe is left free to rise.
the slabs d and e.
pushes it over
The operation of these stops k, k, and
m, m, in connection with the slide 9 is as follows:-The slabs d, e, f,
being in the positions represented in Fig. 1, the stops m, m, being then
withdrawn and the stops k, k, being inserted between the slabs d and e
the ram b is caused to rise and to push up the two slabs d and e while
the top slab fremains at rest. Thus powder with which the holes in the
slab e had been charged is compressed between the lower punches in d
which form the bottoms, and the top punches in f which form the tops
of the pellet moulds. When sufficient pressure has been applied to
consolidate the pellets in the moulds the ram 6 is allowed to descend, the
slabs d and e descending with it. The slide g with the top slab f is now
moved towards the left by turning the hand screw g¹. Its movement by
means of the chains or bands m² attached to it causes the sliding stops
At the same time a
m, m, to be inserted above the middle slab e.
bracket o fixed to the slide g bearing against the lever
to the left and thus causes the stops k, k, to be withdrawn from between
Thus the lower slab d is free to rise while the middle
slabe is kept from rising by the stops m, m, and the upper slab is shifted
away to the left. The ram 6 is now caused to rise, it pushes up the
punches in d, and extrudes the pellets from the holes in the slab e in
which they have been moulded and compressed. These pellets being
removed the ram is again allowed to descend a distance adjusted by
setting screws p, p, and thus to leave a certain depth of holes in the
middle slab e. These holes are charged to the brim with gunpowder,
the slide g with the top slab ƒ is drawn back to the right hand, the
sliding stops m, m, are by this movement withdrawn, and a bracket q
fixed to the slide 9 bearing on the lever 1 causes the stops k, k, to be
inserted again between the lowest and the middle slab. The operation
is then repeated as above described. Other powders or substances
besides gunpowder may thus be compressed in moulds as may be readily
understood. Sometimes it is desirable to compress without the upper
set of punches. In this case the upper slab fis made or fixed sufficiently
low to come close on the middle slab e so that the under surface of the
slab forms the top of the moulds. Cylindrical pellets made in this way
with a flat top and bottom are found well adapted for forming what is
called pebble powder, they being caused to roll over each other in a
rumble, and thus to have their edges rounded off and their surfaces
lazed

page_text: Although I have described my Invention as applied to a hydraulic
press the operation may be effected by presses of other kinds as may be
readily understood.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I
do not limit myself to the precise forms or proportions represented in
the Drawings; I would also have it to be understood that I do not
claim the construction or operation of hydraulic or other presses for
compressing powders into pellets, nor the formation of moulds for such
pellets by means of holes in slabs and punches entering the same, as
these are well known and understood, but I do claim as my Invention
the combination substantially as herein-before described consisting of
the slabs with the stops connected to and worked by one of these slabs
in the manner and for the purposes herein-before set forth.
In witness whereof I, the said Jabez James, have hereunto set ]
my hand and seal, this First day of December, in the year of our
Lord eighteen hundred and seventy.
Witness,
JOHN IMRAY,
28, Great George Street,
Westminster.
J. JAMES. (L.S.)