US306667A - Horse hay-fork - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

. J. T. WATKINS.

HORSE HAY Pom.

N0. 306,667. Patented 001'.. 14, 1884.

@Ntra STATES,

7 Afr-ENT erica.;

J AMES T. W'A'IKINS, OF `SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

HoRsEHAY-FORK. i f

SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters .Patent No. 306,667, dated October 14, 1884.

Application filed February 1, 1884.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES T. WnTKINs, a

citizen of the United States,residing in the clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had ings.

My improvements in horse hay-forks com-l to the accompanying drawprise a certain novel construction and combination of parts to produce a cheap, strong, and durable implement. The following description explains the nature of these improvements and the manner in which I proceed to construct, apply, use,l and carry out the same.

In the drawings referred to, Figure l is a' finished fork ready for use, Fig. 2, a View taken from the bottom or under side of the frame or head. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are detail views of the metal parts of the head on a larger scale.

One novel and useful feature possessed by my improved fork is its quality or capability ot being separated into vparts for storage and shipment, and to be put together again for use without the need of skilled labor, while another feature is the simplicity of construction of the parts that enables repairs 'to be readily made by an ordinary workman. The frame to which the tines are xed, commonlytermed the head of the fork is made of a single straight tlat bar of steel, A, and inclined wooden bars B B, called the timbers when on the outside, and braces when on the inside, of the frame. The lower ends of these timbers are slotted, and the steel bar A being let into the slot at least the full depth of the bar, the tines C C are carried through the timbers and bar and secured by nuts. D at the back of the head. Both timbers and bracesare made with a gradual taper from the bottom to the top of the frame, at which part they meet and enter a block or casting, E, of triangular shape, which has sockets e e to receive the ends of the timbers, and a recess with 'bearings for the spring-bolt F. This block or casting I prefer to cast in one piece. It consists of two outside plates, E E, of triangular form, set at a distance apart corresponding to the thickness of the timbers to be taken in` between them, and having bolt-holes g g in line through which bolts pass to secure the timber. Between the plates are two webs, h, joining themv together and inclosing a square space or recess through the center ofthe casting to hold the catch F. These webs are partitions formed by the upper portion of a loop-shape 6o plate, H, placed between the side plates, with the loop extending below the lower edges. At this part the plate approaches the form of atriangle, a hole, i, being made in the flat or bottom part ot' the loop to let the bolt Fthrough, while 65 at the upper part the two sides are brought together to form the rectangular socket or recess for the head of the catch. The plates or side pieces, E, and the loop-shape plate H, joining them together, are readily castin one piece. The inclined sides h of the loop H have the same slant as the braces or inner timbers of the frame, and the ends ot the two timbers B', being placed on either side of the brace or triangular loop, are secured in the castingbetween the outside timbers, B, and the webs h h, as in a socket. A single bolt, j, passed? through the outside timber and through the 5 end ofthe brace into the web h, is sufficient to hold the parts together at each side. The 8o head K of the latch lits and works smoothly in the recess, while its shank is formed of 'a round bolt having a slot, f, in the lower end to receive the hook L of the tripping rope, and

a pin, m, at a point below the shoulder for a coil-spring, N, to bear against. When the bolt is in place, the lower end extends below the bottom of the bow-shaped brace-plate, and the hook L forms a stop to` limit its upward movement, the motion downward being con- 9o trolled by the shoulder or bottom of the enlarged head, and a small rib or projection, p, cast on the inside of the recess, as shown at dotted lines, Fig. 3, for the shoulder to strike against. The spring N holds the bolt out of the top of the socket, and in raising the frame of the fork into upright position the bail b rides over the rear lug or projection of the catch and drops into the slot s of the latch. The front lug, k2, projects somewhat higher ioo than the rear one, so that it acts as a stop to prevent the frame from swinging too far over. This construction is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The bail b is of ordinary construction,

except that its lower ends are carried away from the top faces of the timbers and have a return bend or offset, b', at the ends to form pintles or swivel-bearings. These pass through ears t, iiXed on the lower ends of each outside timber, and are 'screw-threaded to receive nut d. The ears are part of clamping-pieces T, each of which is composed of a top plate 'that lies upon the upper face of the timber, and has depending side pieces, T', that inclose the timbers between them, and extend down and under the bottom faces, thus forming straps that embrace both sides of the timbers. The heads of the outside tines are earried through the plates and receive the holdlng-nut on the back. The front plate has a square hole to receive the tine-shank; but the hole in the rear plate is circular to correspond with that part of the tine-shank which 1s screw-threaded, and passes through it to the outside. ThisI gives a stronger construction for .the suspension ears or lugs to which the hails are attached, and brings the weight and strain equally upon both sides ofthe timbers and bar of the head and affords a firm connection of the shank of the tine to the bar. This construction is shown in detail in Figs. 5 oi.' the drawings. The lower edges of the side pieces are bent to embrace the timbers, as at u. The same character of strap may be used for the middle tines also, or single straps of the kind shown in the drawings can bc employed. The handle W on the back of the head is formed of a plate, w, having a socket wlth an eye or ring, w', to guide the trippingrope, and a long bolt, 102, screw-threaded, to receive and secure the handle. The plate is iiXed to the back of the steel bar by two short bolts, w3 w3.

Among the advantages derived from thisimproved construction ofhay-fork may be mentioned the compact character of the head,there belng no projecting braces or stays at the back, and the manner in which it is put together enables the parts to be easily separated and packed in small compass for shipment. It is adapted, also,to be manufactured at an exceedingly low cost, and to be repaired when broken without requiring the services of a skilled workman.

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

l. In a horse hay-fork, a head or frame consisting of the metal bar A, the inclined timbers B B, and'braces B B', the timbers and braces having slotted ends into which the bar A is set, and is secured by the shanks of the tiues passing .through them, the end strap plates provided with side pieces that embrace and take over the timbers, and ablock or casting having sockets to receive the upper ends of the inclined timbers, and provided with a center recess or chamber for a sliding catch,

and holes for bolts, all substantially as herein described.

2. In a horse hay-fork of that class in which the head or frame is a triangle formed of inclined timbers running together at the top, the block or casting having outside cheek-pieces, the inside web, and the depending bow-shape plate, substantially as herein described.

3. In a horse hay-fork whereof the head or frame is atriangle, the block or casting having outside cheek-pieces, webs, bow-shaped extension, and the sliding latch working through a guide-slot in the bottom oi the bow-shaped extension, and its upper end projecting above the top of the recess, substantially as herein described.

4. In a horse hay-fork, the combination ofn thebinding-platehavingthecheek-pieces,web, and bow-shaped extension, the bolt N, having the latch-head K, slot s, aud shank F, the spring for throwing out the latch, and the stop in the recess for controlling its downward movement, substantially as herein described.

J. T. WATKINS. [1.. s] XVitneSSeS:

JNO. L. TAG-GARD, EDWD. E. OsBoRN.

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