US131726A - Improvement in lawn-mowers - Google Patents

Description

v B) L.- WALKER. Improvement inLawn-Mewers.

NO. [3l-,726. Patented Sem-2451872.l

1 'ITN,IranA STATES? PATENT rier-Ion.

BENJAMIN L. WALKER. or sine sine, New ronx.

lMPRovEMEN'T IN LAwNj-MowERs.

- Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 131,726.5, dated September 24, 1872; antedated September w-hat are known as rotary hand lawn-mowers,:

though it may be applicable, wholly or in part, to other rotary mowing-machines. It.

consists in the arrangementof the cutter-reel to whichthe rotary cuttersare attached, upon the same axle with the wheels of the machine,

and in a novel arrangement of the. fixed cutter, in combination with which the rotary cutters operate, whereby the cutting of the grass to a more nearly uniform length on uneven. or rolling ground isei'ected. `It also consists` ina novel arrangementof gearing, driving the rotary cutter-reel withk very little friction;

also, innovelI means of providing for the ad- 'justment of the cuttersto cut closer to or not so close to the ground.

to the axle, of a hand lawn-mower with my improvements applied; Fig. 2 isa plan view of the same;` Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the same taken lengthwise and centrally through the reel and wheels; and-Fig. 4 is an inside face view` of theidrivin g-wheelan'd correspondj ing face view of the gearing for driving the reel.

Similarnletters of reference indicate corresponding parts the several figures.

` A is `the driving-wheel, `and B a supportin wheel of` corresponding size, secured one on one end and the other on-the other end of an axle, C. `These wheels are hollow, the cavities being on their inner sides, and each has fitted loosely .withinits rim a disk, D. These `disks aretted loosely to the axle 0, and have rmly secured to them two arms, E E, to

`which is secured a cross-bar, F, which is parallel with the axle, and to which is secured the ltongue Gjby which the machine is driven, the i operator taking hold of this tongue and pushingthe machine beforehim. The disks D D,

` arms E\E,and cross-bar F may be considered as the framing of the machine. is the xed cutter-bar, to which the fixed cutter a is attached, extending across the lower part of the space between the wheels, and bolted firmly tothe lower parts of the disks D D by a screw-bolt, b, at each end, the said bolts pass` ing through slots in the disks and screwing into tapped holes in lugs c c, which areprovided on the ends'of the bar, and which are fitted between guides dd (see Fig. l) on the faces of the disks. This mode of attachment 0f the cutter-bar provides for its adjustment nearer to` or further from the axle, that the rotary cutters may work more or less close to it. The cutter ais bolted to the upper face of the bar H, and presents its edge in a forward direction. I ism the cutter-reel, made with arms at each end of its hub and having spirally-arranged bars e eattached to the said arms, and extending all across it for the attachment of the cutters ff, which are of .ordinary construction. The hub of the reel extends the whole length of that portion of the axle between-the disks D D, and is bored to. y ,y fit loosely toy the axle C, that it may rotate Figure l, in the accompanying drawing, rep resents a vertical section taken at right angles thereon. The drivin g-wheel Ahas formed on uorsecured to it, within its rim, an internallygearing is all inclosed between the 'drivingwheel and its disk D. The hub of the gear Misl extended into a counterbore in the adjacent end of the reel, and has teeth i cut in its inner end to make it form a portion of a ragwheel clutch, the other portion j of which is f1tted loosely to the axle, and so fitted into the reel Y with a feather, k, as shown in Fig. 4, or otherwise, that it may'slide freely in and out of gear with the' gear M, but that when it turns the reel is compelled to turn with it, and a spring, l, is applied within the reel at the inner end, of the portion 7' of the clutch, which tends to keep it in gear.

The operation is as follows: As the machine is pushed along over the ground the WheelsA B are caused to rotate by the traction and to produce rotary motion of the axle. The rotation ofthe internally-toothed spur-gear J with the driving-wheel A produces the rotation of the gear K, through it the rotation of the gears L and M, and the last-mentioned wheel transmits, through the clutch t j, its rotary motion to the reel, by which the cutters f f are caused, acting in combination with the ixed cutter a, to produce their cutting operation. The motion thus transmitted to the cutter-reel is in the same direction with that of the axle, and hence the friction of the reel on the axle is much less than if their rotation were in opposite directions, or than if the axle did not rotate at all. In case of the machine being drawn backward the spring l allows the beveled teeth of the clutch to pass each other without giving motion to the reel; and, in case of the machine being stopped suddenly, the said spring allows a similar action of' the teeth of the clutch and allows the reel to continue its rotation until its momentum expires, and thereby prevents injury to the gearing, which might otherwise result from a sudden stoppage.

In order to provide for the cutting of the grass more or less close to the ground the cross-bar F, to which the tongue is attached, is made adjustable higher or lower in slots m (see Fig. l) provided in the said arms for its reception, the bar being squared to t the said slots in such manner that it will not turn therein, and being secured therein by nuts n n fitted to screws formed on its ends, the said nuts clamping the arms against shoulders ou the bar. By lowering the bar F the cutter is thrown forward and downward to a position more nearly under the axle, and so brought nearer to the ground and the cutting of the grass caused to be more close; and by raising the bar an opposite ei'ect is produced.

Owing to the position of the cutter a being brought so nearly under the axle by the arrangement ot the reel on the main or driving axle the accidental variations in the axle bebetween the tongue and the ground that occur in running over hilly, uneven, or rolling land, have a very slight effect on the position of the cutter a, relatively to the ground, compared with what they have when the rotary cutter-reel works on a separate axle; and, besides, the arrangement ofthe reel on the main axle makes the machine simpler and more compact.

Claims.

l. The arrangement of the rotary cutterreel upon the saine axle with the driving and supporting wheels of the machine, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

2. The xed cutter a arranged directly below the axle of the driving or supporting wheels on disks or carriers D D hung directly on the said axle, in combination with rotary cutters on a reel rotating on the said axle, substantially as herein described.

3. In combination with the cutter-reel rotating upon the main or driving axle, I claim the internally-toothed gear J on the drivingwheel, the loose gear M on the axle connected by a ratchet-clutch with the reel, and the intermediate gears L M attached to the disk or cutter-bar carrier D, substantially as herein described.

4. In combination with the fixed cutter a, arranged as described, and the cutter-reel rotating on the main axle, I claimthe bar F ad-` justable in the slotted arms E E attached to the cutter-bar carriers D D, substantially'as herein described, and for the purpose set forth.

BENJN. L. WALKER. Witnesses:

WM. M. WALKER, HENRY T. BROWN.

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