IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR PACKING, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PRESSES
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adam Stamm, of Buenos Ayres, in South America.
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR PACKING',
"
FORSYTH OF OUTY WAY SIET TILT A OSTINY WATHT AS
ТА СУТР
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adam Stamm at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th June
1856.
I, ADAM STAMM, of Buenos Ayres, in South America, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSES FOR
PACKING, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PRESSES,"
to be as follows:-
My improvements relate to that kiud of presses in which knee joints are
employed, and consist in certain novel arrangements for working the knee
joints, as well as in certain contrivances (applicable to packing presses) for
opening the box or case which contains the material to be compressed, so as to
admit of the compressed bale being easily removed, and for strengthening the
box, so as to render it capable of resisting the pressure. The frame of the
press consists of four wrought-iron rods or pillars, and a top and bottom piece
of sufficient strength to bear the vertical pressure. The lower links of the
knce joints, of which there are two, are supported in bearings fixed to the
bottom piece of the press frame, each of them being connected with a bevil

page_text: wheel segment, either directly or by a link. These two segments gear into a
pinion attached to an upright shaft, and are thereby simultaneously moved in
contrary directions when the machine is in motion. A bevil wheel is keyed at
one end of the upright shaft, into which gears a pinion fixed to the driving
shaft, which may be worked by horse or other power. The upper links of the
knee joints are hinged to the moveable platform or piston, which, by the
gearing above described, is raised when the material in the box is to be
compressed, and again lowered when the box requires filling. The box,
the upper part of which is fitted with suitable doors for removing the bale,
rests upon wheels placed upon rails at a convenient height, and can be
moved to and fro, so as to admit of the use of two boxes, one of which can be
filled whilst the other is subjected to the operation of the press. An iron hoop
or frame, lined with strengthening pieces, is suspended from the head of the
press by means of levers and links, and can be raised to clear the box when
the latter is placed into the press, and then lowered and stripped over the top
of the box, so as effectually to resist the pressure against the sides, and at the
same time securing the door. The sides of the box are fitted with trap doors,
which will admit of the upper links of the knee joints to rise freely up into the
box; motion may also be given to tho bevel wheel segments by means of a
crank or excentric acting upon a ratchet wheel on the top of the upright shaft
by means of palls. This press is particularly suitable for the Colonies for
packing wool; but, with appropriate modifications of the box and the piston, it
may also be used for making oil, and for various other purposes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Adam Stamm in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th December 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ADAM
STAMM, of Buenos Ayres, in South America, Enginer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the
year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Der heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Adam Stamm, Her special licence that I, the said Adam Stamm, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Adam Stamm,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and

page_text: 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 FOR
PACKING, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PRESSES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Adam Stamin, my execu-
tors 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 1, the said Adam Stamm, 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
(that is to say)
My improvements relate to that kind of presses in which knee joints aro
employed, and consist in certain novel arrangements for working the knee
joints, as well as in certain contrivances, applicable to packing presses, for
opening the box or case which contains the material to be compressed, so as to
admit of the compressed bale being easily removed, and for strengthening the
box, so as to render it capable of resisting the pressure.
In order that my Invention may be better understood and more readily
carried out, I will proceed to describe the same, reference being had to the
annexed Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked
thereon.
Fig. 1 is a front view, partly in section; Fig. 2, a side view; Fig. 3, a
ground plan, with the box and piston removed; and Fig. 4, a top view of one
of my improved presses, as applied to the compressing of wool into bales.
The framework of the press consists of a head piece a and a foundation plate b,
which are held together by means of four wrought-iron rods c, and retained in
their respective positions by the collars d. This frame is, in its turn, secured
in its upright position by the planks or beams e, as clearly shewn in Fig. 4;
and further supported and held fast by the platform b, being let into a recess
formed by brickwork or masonry. The whole of the mechanism by which the
press is worked (except the driving apparatus) is contained between the head
picce a and the foundation plate b. The box f, within which the material to be
compressed is placed, is suspended by the brackets g¹ on the axles g, having
flanged wheels h mounted on their ends, which run upon rails fixed on the
edges of the floor i, where space is cut out for reasons which will be hereafter

page_text: explained. That portion of the upper part of the box f marked 2, 3, indicates
the size of the compressed bale, and the lower portion, 1, 2, thereof, is
traversed by the piston k, to which are hinged the links & . The latter are
connected with the links m, & m', and these again have their centres of
oscillation at n & n', where they are secured in bearings in the pedestal o,
which is bolted to the foundation plate b. The toothed segments p & p' are
respectively attached to the links m & m', and these segments are connected
by a pinion g, placed between, and gearing into both of them. The pinion q is
fixed on a upright shaft r, on the top of which a bevil wheels is keyed, into
which gears the driving pinion t on the driving shaft u (see Fig. 3). Three of
the four sides of the upper portion of the box fare moveable on hinges. The
front and back are in the shape of flaps, f¹ & f, which can be laid down, as
shewn in Fig. 2; and one of the narrow ends is divided into two wings
f&f, hinging respectively on the flaps f¹ &f, and therefore admitting of
being laid down simultaneously with the latter whenever the finished bale
requires to be removed from the box. The press is worked in the following
manner: The flaps f¹ & fare put up, so as to form a continuation of
the box f, and the wings f³ & fi are secured to each other by hasps
or bolts and staples. The piston is then lowered into the position in
which it is shewn in strong lines in Fig. 1, being guided and held on two
sides by the beams e, and on the other two by the pieces e', which, being
bolted against the rods c, at the same time hold the press upright. The
box is now removed from under the framing on the railway already referred
to, filled with wool, and again replaced in its position, and the driving
shaft u is set in motion, either by hand or by power, whereby the segments p
& pare made to turn in the directions of their respective arrows, and
tho links m & m', & l'caused to raise the piston at first rapidly, and
gradually more and more slowly, and with increased pressure, until the wool
has finally been compressed to the size of the intended bale. This being
accomplished, the upper portion of the box is opened, the flaps f¹ & flowered,
and the bale tied by ropes or pieces of hoop iron, which are previously laid in
readiness in the grooves x (see Fig. 1), the piece v with the rails w attached
to it (the spaces between which form the grooves x), being fixed to the head-
piece a, and therefore totally unconnected with the box f'. A plate or board k',
with rails attached to it, similar to those marked w, and for the like purpose,
is placed upon the piston k, and prevented from dropping out of the box f by
pieces projecting inwardly, so that the piston may be withdrawn from the box
without leaving the latter open. To strengthen the box f, ribs x, y, z,
surround the four sides of it, and are in their turn embraced by strong iron

page_text: hoops x, y, &. But as the upper part of the box has to be opened from
time to time for the removal of the bale, it is necessary that the strengthening
picces in question should be capable of being taken off. To effect this, a rack
A, which passes through a slot in the strengthening piece, is fixed to the
hoop y on each of the narrow sides of the box f. These two racks are con-
nected by pinions B, fixed on opposite ends of the shaft C, which rests in
bearings on the head piece a, and is furnished with a fly-wheel D. Now,
when the box f is to be opened for the removal of the bale, the two racks A
are raised by turning the fly-wheel D, the hoop y' is thereby lifted until it
reaches the hoop, and then carries the latter with it until both hoops have
been stripped over the box f and deposited immediately under the head piece a:
As, however, the flaps f³ & f* have also to be opened in order to free the bale
completely, the strengthening pieces y & are on that side fixed to their
respective hoops and lifted off simultaneously with them. In order that when
the hoops y & require to be lowered, the hoop ¹ may also have its proper
share of pressure; the rack B is, at the appropriate distance, furnished with a
pin or bracket, which acts upon the hoop after the rack has been lowered
to a certain extent. That the links 1 & m, l' & m', may work freely, a flap E
is hinged on each side of the lower part of the box f (see Fig. 1). These are
provided with catches F, which keep the flap locked until the links & laro
about to come in contact with them; but before this occurs, the links 7 & 1
touch a part of the catch, which projects somewhat into the box f, and by their
prossure open it, thus making room for the links. In places where horses or
cattle are more easily and cheaply to be got than water or steam power, the
tackle shewn in connection with Fig. 1 can be employed. The animal is
harnessed to the splinter bar G, which is attached to the lever II, keyed to tho
upright crank shaft J, and as the shaft J turns round, the crank J' communi-
cates motion to the forked connecting rod K (see Fig. 3) and the clicks
L & L' connected with it, which thus work a horizontal ratchet wheel to be
substituted for the bevil wheel s. The branch K of the connecting rod K is
attached to a short link M, and each of the two branches is guided by a link
O suspended from a cross piece N.
It is evident that the links m & m', instead of being directly connected with
the segments p & p', and having their centres of oscillation in common with
the segments, the segments might have their common centre of oscillation in
the centre line of the press, and be connected with their respective links by
means of short links m³, as shewn in red lines in Fig. 1.
When the press is required for other purposes than as a packing press, for
instance, as a wine or oil press, the segments and links can be retained, the

page_text: shape and construction of the box being modified so as to suit the require-
ments of the case.
In order to prevent accidents arising from inattention on the part of the
attendants, I propose to apply to the driving gear a break or friction apparatus,
so that as soon as the strain on the piston exceeds a certain limit any further
effort applied to the driving gear affects the friction apparatus or break only,
and cannot injure the press. The same apparatus can be used for lowering
the piston of the press, which will, on the break being released, descend by
its own gravity.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and one mode of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that what I claim is,—
Firstly, the segments marked p & p¹ on the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, in connection with the links marked m & m² and the pinion q,
either in the manner shewn in strong lines, or as represented in red lines in
Fig. 1.
And, secondly, the mode of strengthening the upper part of the box marked
f by means of the strengthening pieces marked y & z and the hoops y¹ & ¹ in
the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, as well as the apparatus marked A, B,
& C for raising and lowering the hoops y' & c¹.
In witness whereof, I, the said Adam Stamm, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
ADAM STAMM. (L.S.)