US505580A

US505580A - watson

Info

Publication number: US505580A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1893-09-26
Anticipated expiration: 1910-09-26

Description

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. WATSON.

PROCESS 0F BALING GOTTON. No. 505,580. PatentedSept. 26, 1893.

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J. WATSON.

PROCESS 0F BALING COTTON. No. 505,580. Patented Sept. 26, 1893.

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No. 505,580. Patented Sept. 25,1593.

- UNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES wATsON, OE LONDON, ENGLAND.

PROCESS OF BALING COTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 505,580, dated September 26, 1893.

Application led February 9, 1893. Serial No. 461,577. (No specimens.)

To all whom it mwyconcern:

Be it known that I, JAMES WATSON, of Pembridge Villas, Bayswater, London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes or Methods of Baling Cotton or other Material, of which the following is a specication.

It is the practice at cotton plantations to form cotton into bales covered with cloth or other covering and bound by hoops or other bindings, each of which has a buckle or other fastening device at one side or the other of the bale. By the custom or requirements of the trade these bales, which are generally called plantation bales, must not be broken, thatt is to say the cotton must not be taken out of the original wrappers, and as the cotton has been submitted toonlya slight degree of pressure, it is the practice on the arrival of these plantation balesat a shipping port or depot to take oft' the hoops and then squeeze or compress the bales separately by means of a steam and lever or hydraulic press,

which reduces their depth which Varies from say about forty to forty-six inches more or less to about seven inches. The hoops or bindings are then again put round the bale, tightened, and each hoop fastened by one buckle only at one side of the hoop, but usually some at one side of the bale, and some at the other. On removal from the press the bale expands or bulges out to a depth of about twenty inches. When these bales are subsequently placed on board ship for transport abroad the cost of stevedoring is very heavy because of the practical necessity of squeezing them into as small a space as possible in the holds, screw jacks, levers and various other appliances being employed for the purpose. In the course of this work the coverings get torn and the friction of one set of buckles against another may cause them to slip and strike fire. It is well known that these buckles do slip and ignite the bales, and in fact have been seen to do so.

Now the object of my invention is to compress the so-called plantation bales into compound bales each ofV which shall contain two or more, preferably four, plantation bales, which when released from pressure shall on account of ltheir shape and binding expand only to a small extent as compared with the expansion that takes place when plantation bales are compressed and merely bound separately. Further, as in the compound bales produced according to my invention not only is each bale bound separately but also all the bales constituting the compound bale are bound together, the tendency to expand is evenlydistributed and the risk of the buckles slipping and producing sparks is reduced to a minimum, as such bales being of great density do not necessitate screwing or forcing into the ships hold.

My invention consists in first simultaneously submitting two, three, or more (preferably four) plantation bales superimposed or piled one above another with their original coverings and hoops undisturbed, to the action of a press which reduces the depth of each bale to a considerable extent, say from about forty-tive or forty-six inches more or less to about nine or ten inches more or less; in then while the superimposed bales are still locked in the press cutting off at both sides a portion of the hoops (which owing to the diminution of the depth of the bales bulge out at both sides) the cutting being effected so that the hoops remain of a length adapted for the bale in the iinally compressed state; in then forming loops on said hoops at each side of every bale and placing a buckle at each side; in then submitting the superimposed bales `(preferably without allowing them to expand) to the action of a more powerful press, whereby the depth of each bale is still further reduced, say to about five to seven `inches more lor less; in then fastening each bale separately by means of the buckles at both sides; and finally iu binding or lashing the superimposed bales together by means of one, two or more hoops, of which preferably three would be employed, each of them making five turns more or less round the bale and being then fastened in any suitable manner, preferably by pushing the end of the hoop under the previous turn of saine on top or bottom, thus securing the total strengthof the hoop for holding the bale. The separate hoops on each individual or original bale having been held fast between the bales by the pressure and tightened at both sides when thus under pressure takea large portion of the strain and therefore the outside hoops may be much IOO lighter. The result is the production of a highly compressed compound bale, composed of two or more plantation bales each of which is contained in its original wrapper and hoops. On the removal of the compound bale from the press it will expand or bulge much less than a bale pressed separately according to the ordinary practice. A compound bale formed of four bales would when under pressure measure about twenty-seven to twentyeight inches deep, and out of the press it would expand to about thirty-six to thirtyeight inches deep. The bale would thus be about sixty by thirty-six by thirty-six-in ch es, equal to forty-five cubic feet, whereas a single bale pressed separately according to the ordinary practice measures about sixty by thirtysix by twenty inches, equal to twenty-tive cubic feet, so that the compound bale effects a saving in measurement of more than fifty per cent.

The invention isnot limited to submitting the superimposed bales to the successive action of only two presses as a third press might in exceptional cases be employed with advantage while on the other hand where less speed in baling may be considered sufiicient the second press may be dispensed with and only one press used, the bales, after the first pressing operation, being in such case separately fastened by means of buckles placed on both sides of the severed original hoops, and then all bound or lashed together as above described.

In the accompanying drawingsz-Figure l is a side elevation and Fig. 2 an end elevation showing four plantation bales superimposed one above another before being submitted to the action of the first press according to my invention. Fig. 3 is a side elevation and Fig. 4 an end elevation showing the same bales after they have been submitted to the action of the irst press, but before the original binding hoops have been cut. Fig. 5 is a side elevation and Fig. 6 an end elevation showing the same bales after portions of the binding hoops have been cut oft at each side, loops formed on the ends of the remaining lengths of said hoops and abuckle placed on one of said loops at each side of every bale. Fig. 7 is a side elevation and Fig. 8 an end elevation showing the same bales after they have been submitted to the action of the second press and each bale has been separately fastened by means of the buckles on the binding hoops and all the bales have been bound or lashed together by means of hoops. Fig. 9 is a side elevation and Fig. l0 an end elevation of the same bales after they have been removed from the press and allowed to expand as far as the hoops will permit. Fig. ll is an elevation of the opposite side of the bale to that represented in Fig. 9 and shows how the outside hoops are placed on said opposite side. The original binding hoops are for clearness omitted from this figure.

a d are the bales, Z) b the original binding hoops, and c c the original buckles or fastenings of said hoops.

dd, Figs. 3 and 4, represent the parts of the hoops b b which bulge out from the sides of the bales after the action of the first press.

e e are the points where the hoops are severed, that is to say the parts d d are cut ott.

f f, Figs. 5 and 6, are the loops which are then formed on the ends of the remaining parts ot said hoops, and g g the buckles .placed on one of said loops at each side of every bale.

h h are the hoops by which all the four bales are lashed or bound together, so as to form a compound bale.

The operation is as followsz-flhe bales a a superimposed as in Figs. l and 2 are compressed by the first press to approximately the size represented by Figs. 3 and 4; the bulging or projecting parts d d of the original hoops b b are then severed at e e; the loops f f, Figs. 5 and 6, are then formed on the ends of the remaining parts of said hoops and the buckles g g placed in position; the four superim posed bales are next in their compressed state transferred to and further compressed by the second press to approximately the size represented by Figs. 7 and 8 and are then separately fastened at both sides by the buckles g g as seen in those figures; next the hoops h h are lashed around the four bales so as to bind them all together and form a compound bale. This compound bale being then freed from the press it expands to approximately the size represented in Figs. 9, 10 and l1. 1

Although I have only described the invention as applied to the compression of so-called plantation bales for which it is particularly adapted it is obvious that it is also applicable to the compression of other bales Whether of cotton or other material. Any suitable arrangement of press may be employed for carrying out this inventiom'but I prefer that which is described in a specification forming a separate application for patent of even date herewith, Serial No. 461,578.

It is also obvious that instead of edecting the compressing and other operations upon two or more bales when piled one above another as described, the bales may be placed against each other in a horizontal line and acted upon by a press which works horizontally.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The process or method hereinbefore described of baling cotton or other material which has already been partly compressed, covered with cloth or other covering and bound by bindings, and is in the form known as plantation bales,7 which process consists in simultaneously submitting a plurality of said bales, when in contact with each other, and while in their original bindings, to the action of a press, compressing them therein into a much smaller depth, in then separately IOC IIC'

505,580 i y s tightening and fastening theoriginal bindings of said bales while all the bales are under the pressure of said press, and thereby binding each of said bales separately with its original bindings, and in then binding all the bales together with additional bindings while under pressure, whereby a compound bale is produced consisting of a plurality of compressed plantation bales, each of which is separately and tightly bound in its tightened original bindings, and all of which are bound together with additional bindings.

2. The process or method hereinbefore described of baling cotton or other material which has already been formed into bales, covered with cloth or other covering, and bound by hoops or other bindings, which consists in simultaneously submitting two or more of such bales when in contact with each other, and with their original wrappers and bindings, to the action of a press whereby they are compressed into a much smaller depth, in then cutting off portions of the binding hoops, which owing to the decrease in the depth of the bale by the action of said press bulge out at the sides, and forming fastenings on the remaining portions of said hoops, in then submitting the bales to the action of a more powerful press, whereby they are still further compressed, in then rebinding said bales separately and before they are allowed to expand, by parts of their original hoops, and in then binding all the bales together by hoops or other bindings into one compound cutting oif portions of the binding hoops, Y

which owing to the decrease in the depth of the bale by the action of said press bulge out at the sides, and forming loops on the remaining portions of said hoops and placing buckles thereon; in then submitting the bales tothe action of a more powerful press, whereby they are still further compressed; in then re-bind ing said bales separately and before they are allowed to expand, by parts of their original hoops; and in then binding all the bales together by hoops or other bindings into one compound bale, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES WATSON.y

Witnesses:

JOHN C. MEWBURN, THOMAS L. WHITEHEAD.