GB191116403A - Improvements in or relating to Swath turning Machines. - Google Patents

Abstract

16,403. Collyer, J. V. July 17. Haymaking.-The tines of a swath-turner are movably mounted radially on rotary heads and are arranged to make contact with the ground on one side only of the heads so as to be driven by engagement with the ground or the crop. The machine is provided with a frame 1, Fig. 2, horseshafts 2, runners or wheels 3, and one or more turning-heads. The width may be varied by adjusting the frame or the turning-heads. Each head comprises hook-shaped or other tines 4 pivotally, flexibly, or otherwise movably mounted radially on an inclined or horizontal disk 5. The tines are in contact with the ground from the point c to the point e, and then rise and leave the crop at the point d. They may be raised and lowered by the inclination of the disk 5, by one or more wheels or cams 7, or by a wheel or disk rotating with the disk 5 and inclined to it. The disk 5 is mounted on a ball bearing on a screwed spindle 8,'Fig. 4, carried by a movable inclined rod 10, which may rise to clear obstructions and may be lifted by a lever 16. The spindle 8 may be bent or inclined. It is adjusted by means of lock-nuts 11 or by turning its support 12 in the rod 10. The tines may be hinged in slots in the disk 5, the axes of the hinges being at right angles to the tines, or at some other angle so that the tines turn as they rise. The ends of the tines may be bent and fitted into holes in the disk, or hinge blocks may be used. The tines may be made of wire, or of cane or wood, with or without metal points. The fall of the tines may be limited by a flange or rim, and they may be held down by springs or weights. A fixed or spring- controlled cam, or a weight, spring, or bar 15 may be used to hold them down while in contact with the crop. The bar 15 and cam 7 may be adjusted round the spindle 8, or to or from it. The tines may be provided with rollers or wheels to engage the bar and cam. The machine may be reversed by adjusting the cams &c., and by changing the inclination of the heads by rotating their spindles &c. According to the Provisional Specification, the turning-heads may be driven by gearing from the wheels.