US121317A - Improvement in cotton-presses - Google Patents

Description

. 2 Sheets- Sheet 1. CHARLES J. BEASL'EY.

improvement in Cotton Prds-ses. -'-No. 121,sn.

Patented Nov- 28,1871.

2 Sheets--Sheet CHARLES J. BEASLEY.

' lmnrovement 111 Cotton Presses.

Patented Nov. 28,1871.

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CHARLES J. BEASLEY, OF PETERSBUBG, VIRGINIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-PRESSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 121,317, dated November 2e, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES J. BEASLEY, of Petersburg, in the county of Dinwiddie and State of Virginia, have invented a new and Improved Cotton-Press; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2, a front elevation; Fig. 3, a detached side elevation, partly in section, showing the construction and operation of the hoisting lever, ratchet, and pawl; and Fig. 4 is a partial side elevation, partly in section, showing the horse-power for drawing the followers together.

This invention relatesto that class of presses which employs two followers-one moving upward and the other downward. The invention consists in the combination of two such followers in the manner hereinafter described, so that the lower one in rising draws down the upper one part of the way, and when descending raises the upper one. It also consists in the construction and arrangement of a lever for operating the shaft on which are mounted the cords for adjusting the followers. And it finally consists in the combination, with said shaft, of a horsepower for drawing the followers together when it is preferable that the other apparatus for doing the same thing should not be used.

Referring to the drawing, G G are the uprights, which guide the followers and support and form part of the case. Being arranged centrally in said case, they allow of easy access to the bale in order to sew the corners thereof. A is the lower and B the upper follower. G are arms, the length of which must be equal to the combined travel of the followers, said arms being jointed at the inner extremities to the ends of the follower A and at their outer extremities to the lower ends of rods D, the upper ends of which are jointed to the upper follower B. To

each arm 0, at a point distant from the lower follower a little more than half the length of the arm, are jointed the lower ends of a pair of fulcrum-rods, E, the upper ends ofwhich are hinged to brackets F that are bolted fast to the uprights G. The ropes N are fastened to the ends of the follower A and pass thence upward over sheaves e on the brackets F; thence downward under sheaves d, mounted in supports that are attached to the uprights Gr, near the lower ends of the same; thence over sheaves c at the ends of the arms 0; and thence to the winding-shaft H, on which is fixed a ratchet-wheel, I. The shaft and ratchet are turned by a lever, J, and retained by a detent, K. The lever J is provided with a projection, b, which rides over and drops into the notches of the ratchet-wheel I when the lever is raised. The lever J is pivoted upon the shaft H. The detent K is provided with an arm, L, which acts as a brake on the ratchet I to retard the fall of the lower follower after the withdrawal of the detent from said ratchet. As the winding-shaft rotates the ropes N shorten between the lower follower and the brackets F, and consequently hoist the lower follower. The arms 0, turning on the joints of the fulcrum-rods E, lower their outer ends, and consequently draw down the upper follower. As this movement proceeds the outer ends of the arms 0 descend below the inner ends of the same, and as soon as this occurs said arms begin to exert a pushing effect upon the lower follower. The arms 0 also begin, as soon as their outer ends fall below the horizontal, to take upon themselves the office of drawing down the upper follower independently of the action of the lower follower, thereby diminishing the strain upon the ropes and guide-rods and transferring it to the arms 0. Thus the power of the press increases directly as the resistance of the cotton. When the bale is complete and it is desired to release the followers, the lever J is pressed downward until it strikes the box a that incloses the shaft, which bears the detent K. This box, acting as a fulcrum, causes the inner end of the lever to rise, the slot fthat incloses the shaft H being long enough for this purpose, until the projection b clears the ratchet I. The detent K is then disengaged from the ratchet by pulling the cord M, leaving the ratchet and shaft H free to turn backward under the weight of the lower follower, but still under the control of the brake L. The lower follower being heavier than the upper one, and the levers 0 having their longer arms on the sides next the lower follower, the latter, as it descends, raises the upper follower. The upper follower B rises above the top of the press-case and swings over to one side for the admission of the cotton. The sheaves (1 cause those parts of the cords N that are between them and the sheaves 0 to be double, and thus to better endure the strain upon them, which grows more severe the longer the compression proceeds. The rods E exert no lifting action, but serve as movable fulcrums for the arms 0, and regulate the movements of the followers, causing these movements to begin and end at the same time. On the outer end of the shaft H, at the side of the press opposite the lever J, a grooved wheel, 0, is fixed, the same being made fast to the shaft by means of a clutch, 0, engaging with a clutch, o. By attaching a horse to the end of a rope wound around this wheel and causing the horse to walk off in a straight line, so as to unwind the rope and rotate the wheel 0 and shaft H, the followers can be drawn together quicker than by the operation of the lever J. To wind up the rope again, disconnect the clutches 0 and 0 and turn the wheel 0 by hand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of the followers A B, arms 0, fulcrum-rods E, and connecting-rods D, as described, for the purpose of causing the lower follower, as it descends, to raise the upper follower.

2. The combination of the followers A B, arms 0, fulcrum-rods E, connecting-rods D, cords N, and winding-shaft H, as specified.

3. The lever J, provided with the slot f and rigid projection b, and arranged in relation to the ratchet I on the shaft H, as set forth.

CHARLES J. BEASLEY.

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