IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES AND MODES OF PRESSING, APPLICABLE TO COTTON, HEMP, WOOL, COIR, HIDES, HAY, FIBRES, PEAT, LINEN THREAD, PIECE GOODS, EXTRACTING OIL, AND OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Perkes, of Clapham, in the County of Surrey,
Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES AND
MODES OF PRESSING, APPLICABLE TO COTTON, HEMP, WOOL, COIR, HIDES, HAY,
FIBRES, PEAT, LINEN THREAD, PIECE GOODS, EXTRACTING OIL, AND OTHER
USEFUL PURPOSES."
Sealed the 23rd July 1861, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor,
and dated the 2nd Tonuary 1961
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Perkes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 3rd
January 1861.
I, SAMUEL PERKES, of Clapham, in the County of Surrey, Civil Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PRESSES AND MODES OF PRESSING, APPLICABLE TO COTTON, HEMP, WOOL, COIR,
HIDES, HAY, FIBRES, PEAT, LINEN THREAD, PIECE GOODS, EXTRACTING OIL, AND
OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in pressing and modes of
pressing, applicable to pressing cotton, hemp, wool, coir, hides, hay, fibres,
peat, linen thread, piece goods, extracting oil, and other useful purposes, and
are constructed as follows:-For pressing cotton, hemp, wool, coir, hay, fibres,
or other elastic substances, I employ a novel description of vertical press,

page_text: which I construct of very strong boxed framing of iron, by preference, and
furnished with strong flanges at the angles for supporting the whole, and firmly
securing it laterally together. In the upper half of this framing I leave
suitable openings for conveniently feeding in the material to be operated upon.
There are also very strong head and base plates, and through each of which
and the entire of the framing at the angles or chief points of resistance, I
insert 4 strong wrought-iron bolts with solid heads, and suitable fastenings for
securing the entire framing vertically together, and likewise for resisting the
vertical strain or tension when the press is in use. The lower part of the
press is furnished with strong hinged doors for convenience of lashing and
taking out the bales when finished. In the base plate of this press I fix a
powerful hydraulic cylinder and ram, which is furnished with a suitable set of
In
hydraulic pumps, which can be worked either by hand or other power.
the upper part of the boxed framing I suspend a heavy massive weight of
portable construction. On the summit of the press I fix a vertical steam
cylinder fitted with a piston and piston rod, and which rod is furnished with a
suitable gland, and passes through the head of the press to the top of the massive
weight, and to which it is securely attached either either by gibs and cotters
or by grappling hooks. This cylinder is also furnished with proper arrange-
ments for preventing the possibility of concussion by an excessive steam.
The steam is supplied from an ordinary steam boiler, and is used for the
purpose of instantaneously raising the weight after the pressure of each bale.
This cylinder is likewise furnished with suitable valves and pipes for regulating
the admission and exit of the steam; suitable palls or massive resistance blocks,
are fitted into the upper sides of the press framing, and furnished with self-
acting mechanism for securing the massive weight in position after each descent
inside the box, and which arrangements prevent the rebound which might
otherwise take place. The palls also receive the upward thrust from the
hydraulic ram beneath.
The press is used as follows:-The proper quantity of material is fed in by
hand to the upper part of the pressing box from a conveniently raised floor
or platform on a level therewith. The massive weight is then permitted to
drop with the full force of gravity, either by suddenly discharging the steam
from the beneath the piston which supported it, or by disengaging a grappling
hooks as before alluded to. The instant the weight descends the palls or
resistance blocks are forced home between the head of the press and the top
of the weight by self-acting arrangements, and thereby intercept the rebound
and receive the upward pressure from beneath. The hydraulic ram is then
set in motion and completes the requisite pressure, and during which operation

page_text: the bale is lashed either in the ordinary way or with iron or copper bands,
which I adopt, by preference, as being far more expeditious for lashing, and
will be found much more economical, as they will prevent the greater portion
of the expansion which invariably takes place, and adds so much to the cost of
freight, with hempen lashings, and may be used over and over again at pleasure.
The iron bands, by preference, I first heat and immerse in linseed oil, which
will prevent corrosion and injury to the goods.
The next description of press I construct horizontally, either double or single-
acting. In the double-acting press I employ strong hydraulic cylinders with
one or more rams in each, and set opposite to each other at any required
distance apart, and securely tied together at the extreme ends with strong
tension bars, thus each forming a butt for the other of them to work against
as the pressure is simultaneously exerted towards each other and the material
is placed between them. I sometimes place a double-acting cylinder, by
preference, in the centre of the press, and admit the fluid between the two
rams, which may be made to act simultaneously in opposite directions, or
modified so as to use one ram or both alternately. I also apply single-acting
horizontal presses with one or more rams for the purpose of expressing oils
and oleaginous fibrous and pulpy substances generally, and in either respect
these single-acting presses are similarly constructed to the double-acting press.
These presses are each worked with hydraulic pumps which can be moved
either by hand or other power. Suitable divisional disc plates, dies, or moulds
are furnished for receiving and dividing the material to be operated upon, and
can be adapted for any special substance according to the nature thereof.
For instance, for compressing peat or other substances I provide suitable
pressing plates in which are formed moulds or dies, male and female, of
whatever form or shape may be required. For pressing oleaginous or other
substances where heat is required, in some cases I employ partially hollow
diagonal plates between each cake of material, and heat them by the introduc-
tion of hot fluid, say, by preference, hot water or steam, which is admitted
through flexible or other tubes at the top of each plate, and passes through
internal channels so as to cause a continuous circulation throughout each
plate, and is discharged at the bottom through a cock into a waste water
receiver and conducted into the drain. In other cases I employ solid discs,
moulds, or die plates, and heat the material to be operated upon, and envelope
it in suitable hairs, or bags, or wrappers, which in some cases are partially
metallic. I otherwise place some material in portable iron boxes for dropping
into the moulds, as the case may require according to the nature and descrip-
tion of such material. Suitable arrangements are also provided, either by

page_text: steam or otherwise, for withdrawing and separating the dies, discs, or moulds
and rams after pressure, for the purpose of withdrawing the pressed material
and refilling the press. The cylinders or butts in each press are secured to
each other by means of very strong horizontal wrought tension bars with solid
heads, and firmly attached for resisting the pressure. There are also strong
iron side frames for transversely supporting the tension bars, and immediately
above the top of which, where required, there is supported a longitudinal cast
iron pipe for conveying the hot water or other fluid to the disc plates, and the
water or fluid is supplied from a common boiler conveniently fixed for that
purpose. The hydraulic pumps are of the ordinary description, and are placed
in any convenient position, and the water is pumped from thence into the
cylinder or cylinders through pipes in the usual way, and when the rams are
finally forced home and the pressure completed, valves are opened which will
allow the water or other liquid used to leave the cylinders or cylinder, and
discharge itself through pipes into a receiving well, which in some cases I
construct beneath the hydraulic pumps of sufficient depth to withdraw the
ranis by gravitation and atmospheric pressure, and the liquid thus deposited
in the receiving well is pumped up into the hydraulic pump cistern by a
cominon pump for re-use. The material to be operated upon, if pulpy or
oleaginous, is placed in substantial bags, or wrappers, or frames, or otherwise
between the dies, moulds, or disc plates as before alluded to, and the oil or
liquid which may be expressed therefrom drops into a receiving trough which
is fixed underneath between the standards or side frames, and extends along
the bed of the entire machine, and from whence the products can be conducted
into any convenient receptacle provided for that purpose.
Another form of hydraulic press I construct vertically with hollow boxed
sides for heating the material under pressure, which is thus entirely encased;
in other respects it resembles an ordinary hydraulic press, and is worked by
hand or other power. This press is more particularly adapted for oleaginous
substances and piece goods, and all such materials as require heat during the
operation. It is a very economical press for working by hand power. In
certain cases, where necessary, I prepare the material iu small hand or fly
presses, which will partially press it and thus reduce the bulk, which will
allow the hydraulic or finishing presses to hold much more material.
The next description of press is more especially adapted for pressing hay,
hemp, hides, common packages, cotton, wool, or coir, by hand power up to
about one hundred tons pressure, and will be found of great value, particularly
in inland districts where steam or hydraulic power is not admissible or available.
It is of vertical construction, and consists of a cast-iron portable box with.

page_text: suitable connecting bolts, and is furnished with a plunger, which is attached
to a strong vertical screw working in a fixed nut of suitable depth. This screw
is set in motion by means of a horizontal lever wheel, the nave of which is
squared in four sides with rounded corners to fit the vertical screw, which is
likewise flatted on the four sides to suit the nave of the wheel, which thus
enables the pressing screw to traverse up and down whilst the horizontal lever
wheel is in motion. This wheel is supported at a convenient height from the
floor by means of a cylindrical standard box on which the wheel rests and
rotates, having gun metal washers and steel plates between the two for
preventing friction. The entire press is held together by means of four strong
wrought-iron bolts and nuts, which resist the thrust and pressure. These
presses will be very cheap in construction, of extraordinary simplicity and
durability, and will perform a greater amount of work in a given time than
any presses for similar purposes in use. Steam or other power can be applied
to this press where desirable.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said Samuel Perkes in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
PERKES, of Clapham, in the County of Surrey, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Samuel Perkes, Her special licence that I, the said Samuel Perkes, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel
Perkes, 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, 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 PRESSES
AND MODES OF PRESSING, APPLICABLE TO COTTON, HEMP, WOOL, COIR, HIDES, HAY,
FIBRES, PEAT, LINEN THREAD, PIECE GOODS, EXTRACTING OIL, AND OTHER USEFUL
PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Samuel
Perkes, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe

page_text: 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 Samuel Perkes, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in presses and modes of
pressing, applicable to cotton, hemp, wool, coir, hides, hay, fibres, peat, linen
thread, piece goods, extracting oil, and other useful purposes, and are con-
structed as follows:-For pressing cotton, hemp, wool, coir, hay, fibres, or
other elastic substances, I employ a novel description of vertical press, which I
construct of very strong boxed framing of iron, by preference, and furnished
with strong flanges at the angles for supporting the whole, and firmly securing
it laterally together. In the upper half of this framing I leave suitable
openings for conveniently feeding in the material to be operated upon. There
are also very strong head and base plates, and through which and the entire
of the framing at the angles or chief points of resistance, I insert four strong
wrought-iron bolts with solid heads and suitable fastnings for securing the
entire framing vertically together, and likewise for resisting the vertical strain
or tension when the press is in use. The lower part of the press is furnished
with strong hinged doors for convenience of lashing and taking out the bales
when finished. In the base plate of this press I fix a powerful hydraulic
cylinder and ram, which is furnished with a suitable set of hydraulic pumps,
which can be worked either by hand or other power. In the upper part of
the boxed framing I suspend a heavy massive weight of portable construction.
On the summit of the press I fix a vertical steam cylinder fitted with a piston
and piston rod, and which rod is furnished with a suitable gland, and passes
through the head of the press to the top of the massive weight, and to which
it is securely attached either by gibs and cotters or by grappling hooks.
This cylinder is also furnished with proper arrangements for preventing the
possibility of concussion by any excess of steam. The steam is supplied from
an ordinary steam boiler, and is used for the purpose of instantaneously
raising the weight after the pressure of each bale. This cylinder is likewise
furnished with suitable valves and pipes for regulating the admission and exit
of the steam. Suitable palls or massive resistance blocks are fitted into the
upper sides of the press framing, and furnished with self-acting mechanism for
securing the massive weight in position after each descent inside the box,

page_text: and which arrangements prevent the rebound which might otherwise take
place. The palls also receive the upward thrust from the hydraulic ram
beneath.
The press is used as follows:-The proper quantity of material is fed in by
hand to the upper part of the pressing box from a conveniently arranged floor
or platform on a level therewith. The massive weight is then permitted to
drop with the full force of gravity, either by suddenly discharging the steam
from beneath the piston which supported it, or by disengaging the grappling
hooks, as before alluded to. The instant the weight descends the palls or
resistance blocks are forced home between the head of the press and the top
of the weight by self-acting arrangements, and thereby intercept the rebound
and receive the upward pressure from beneath. The hydraulic ram is then
set in motion and completes the requisite pressure, and during which opera-
tion the bale is lashed either in the ordinary way or with looped or rivetted
iron or copper bands, which I adopt by preference as being far more ex-
peditious for lashings, and will be found much more economical, as they will
prevent the greater portion of the expansion which invariably takes place, and
adds so much to the cost of freight with hempen lashings, and may be used
over and over again at pleasure. The iron bands, by preference, I first heat
and immerse in linseed oil, which will prevent corrosion and injury to the
goods, or else use them galvanized.
.
The next description of press I construct horizontally, either double or
single acting. In the double-acting press I employ strong hydraulic cylinders
with one or more rams in each, and set opposite to each other at any required
distance apart, and securely tied together at the extreme ends with strong
tension bars, thus each forming a butt for the other of them to work against,
as the pressure is simultaneously exerted towards each other and the material
is placed between them. I sometimes place a double-acting cylinder, by pre-
ference, in the centre of the press, and admit the fluid between the two rams,
which may be made to act simultaneously in opposite directions, or modified
so as to use one ram or both alternately. I also apply single-acting hori-
zontal presses with one or more rams for the purpose of expressing oils and
oleaginous fibrous and pulpy substances generally, and in either respects these
single-acting presses are similarly constructed to the double-acting press.
These presses are each worked with hydraulic pumps, which can be moved either
by hand or other power. Suitable divisional disc plates, dies, or moulds are
furnished for receiving and dividing the material to be operated upon, and can be
adapted for any special substance according to the nature thereof; for instance,
for compressing peat or other substances I provide suitable pressing plates, in

page_text: which are formed moulds or dies, male and female, of whatever form or shape
may be required for pressing oleaginous or other substances where heat is
required. In some cases I employ partially hollow division plates between each
cake of material, and heat them by the introduction of hot fluid, say, by pre-
ference, hot water or steam, which is admitted through flexible or other tubes
at the top of each plate, and passes through internal channels, so as to cause a
continuous circulation throughout each plate, and is discharged at the bottom
through a cock into a waste water receiver, and conducted into the drain. In
other cases I employ solid discs, moulds, or die plates, and heat the material
to be operated upon, and envelope it in suitable hairs, or bags, or wrappers,
which in some cases are partially metallic. I otherwise place some material in
portable iron boxes for dropping into the moulds, as the case may require,
according to the nature and description of such material. Suitable arrangements
are also provided either by steam or otherwise for withdrawing and separating
the dies, dises, or moulds, and rams after pressure, for the purpose of with-
drawing the pressed material and refilling the press. The cylinders or butts
in each press are secured to each other by means of very strong horizontal
wrought tension bars with solid heads, and firmly attached for resisting the
pressure. There are also strong iron side frames for transversely supporting
the tension bars, and immediately above the top of which, where required, there
is supported a longitudinal cast-iron pipe for conveying the hot water or other
fluid to the disc plates, and the water or fluid is supplied from a common boiler
conveniently fixed for that purpose.
The hydraulic pumps are of the ordinary description, and are placed in any
convenient position, and the water is pumped from thence into the cylinder or
cylinders through pipes in the usual way; and when the rams are finally forced
home and the pressure completed, valves are opened, which will allow the
water or other liquid used to leave the cylinders or cylinder, and discharge
itself through pipes into a receiving well, which in some cases I construct
beneath the bydraulic pumps, of sufficient depth to withdraw the rams by
gravitation and atmospheric pressure; and the liquid thus deposited in the
receiving well is pumped up into the hydraulic pump cistern by a common
pump for re-use. The material to be operated upon, if pulpy or oleaginous, is
placed in suitable bags, or wrappers, or frames, or otherwise between the
dies, moulds, or disc plates, as before alluded to, and the oil or liquid which
may be expressed therefrom drops into a receiving trough, which is fixed
underneath between the standards or side frames, and extends along the bed of
the entire machine, and from whence the products can be conducted into any
convenient receptacle provided for that purpose.

page_text: Another form of hydraulic press I construct vertically with hollow boxed
sides for heating the material under pressure, which is thus entirely encased; in
other respects it resembles an ordinary hydraulic press, and is worked by hand
or other power. This press is more particularly adapted for oleaginous sub-
stances, and piece goods and all such materials as require heat during the
operation. It is a very economical press for working by hand power. In
certain cases, where necessary, I prepare the material in small hand or fly
presses, which will partially press it and thus reduce the bulk, which will allow
the hydraulic or finishing presses to hold much more material.
The next description of press is more especially adapted for pressing hay,
hemp, hides, common packages, cotton, wool, or coir by hand power up to
about one hundred tons' pressure, and will be found of great value, particularly
in inland districts where steam or hydraulic power is not admissible or avail-
able; it is of vertical construction, and consists of a cast-iron portable box
with suitable connecting bolts, and is furnished with a plunger which is attached
to a strong vertical screw working in a fixed nut of suitable depth; this screw
is set in motion by means of a horizontal lever wheel, the nave of which is
squared on four sides with rounded corners to fit the vertical screw, which is
likewise flatted on the four sides to suit the nave of the wheel, which thus
enables the pressing screw to traverse up and down whilst the horizontal lever
wheel is in motion. This wheel is supported at a convenient height from the
floor by means of a cylindrical standard box on which the wheel rests and
rotates, having gun-metal washers and steel plates between the two for pre-
venting friction. The entire press is held together by means of four strong
wrought-iron bolts and nuts, which resist the thrust and pressure. These presses
will be very cheap in construction, of extraordinary simplicity and durability,
and will perform a greater amount of work in a given time than any presses
for similar purposes in use. Steam or other power can be applied to this press
where desirable.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Perkes, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
SAMUEL PERKES. (L.S.)