US30884A - Improvement in steam-plows - Google Patents

Description

w. H. H. MILLEN.

Steam-Plow.

No. 30,884 Y Patented Dec. 11. 1860.

N-PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D c.

UNITED STATES PATENT TOFFICE,

wM. H. n. MILLEN, or LITTLETON, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM-PLOWS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 30,884, dated December 11, 1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, W. H. H. 'MTLLEN, of Littleton, in the county of Grafton and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and Improved Steam-Plow; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a back sectional view of same, taken in the line a; m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3'is a horizontal section of same, taken in the line y y, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detached perspective view of aportion of one of the plows. 7

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

Thisinvention relates to an improved steamplow of that description in which rotary plows are employed.

The object of the invention is to obtain a light, portable, and efficient plowing-machine, one that may be readily manipulated and the parts placed under the complete control of the operator or attendant.

Steam-plows hitherto constructed-at least all those which have passed under my observation-have been necessarily made of great weight, in order to obtain sufficient traction that the machine may be propelled along. This in volves a great expenditure, not only in the construction of the machine, but also in the running of the same.

By my invention it is believed that the above-mentioned difficulty is obviated, and an extremely light, durable, efficient, and economical steam-plow obtained.

To enable those skilled in the art'to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a carriage, the back part of which is supported by the wheels B B, the front part being supported by a pair of wheels, 0 G,the axle a of which is connected to the carriage bya king-bolt, b. The axle a has a chain or rope, D, attached to it near its ends at equal distancefrom the bolt b, as shown clearly by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, and this rope is attached to a vertical shaft, A, which passes up through the platform of the carriage and has a hand-wheel, a, on its upper end.

On the carriage A there is placed transversely a shaft, E, which has a pinion, c, at each end of it. These pinions c c engage with toothed wheels d d, which are secured concentrically to the outer sides of the wheels 13 B.

To each side of the carriage A there is attached an inclined bar, 0, thelower ends of which form bearings fora shaft, F, which is below the platform or bed of the carriage. On this shaft F there are placed loosely two pinions, ff, which may be connected to the shaft F, when desired, by means of sliding clutches g g. These clutches have each a lever, G, connected to them, and the fulcrum-pinsof these levers pass into the under sides of the inclined bars 6 e. The levers G G extend toward the front part of the carriage and are connected to rods h h, the inner ends of which are attached to arms t i, which are at opposite sides of a vertical shaft, Hysaid shaft passing up through the platform of the carriage and having ahandwheel, j, at its upper end.

To each end of the shaft F there is secured a toothed wheel, I, and these wheels gear into pinions k k, which are placed on a shaft, J. The shaft J has its bearin gs in arms K K, the front ends of which are fitted loosely on the shaft F, so that their-outer parts and also shaft J may swing up and down. 7

On the shaft J there are placed a series of plows,K. Thcseplowsarecomposedofcurved arms I, attached to hubs L, which are secured to the shaft J side by side. The arms Z have beveled or oblique face-surfaces m, as shown clearly in Fig. 4, said surfaces having a tendency to cast the earth at one side, similar to the mold-board of an ordinary plow.

The back ends of the arms K K are attached to a cross-bar, M, which has ropes or chains n n attached to it at about its center. These ropes or chains pass through guides 0 at the under side of the platform of the carriage, and then pass up through the platform and are secured to hollow shafts N N, which are placed loosely onshafts 0 O. The outer ends of the shafts O 0 have toothed wheels P P on them, one on each, and these wheels gear into the pinions c c of the shaft E. The hollow shafts N N have ratchets Q on their inner ends, and the outer ends of said shafts N have clutches p on them,which, when the shaftsN are shoved outward, engage with clutches q at the inner sides of the wheels I, and cause the shafts N to be connected to the shafts O 0.

0n the back part of the platform of the car; riage there are placed two uprights, M, to each of which a lever, It, is attached by a fulcrum pin, 8. Each lever R hasa pawl,t, attachedto it and a lip u, the lips projecting down at the inner sides of the ratchets Q, the levers B bein g at the opposite sides of the ratchets.

S is a steam-boiler, which is placed on the carriage, and T T are two engines, which are placed one at each side of the boiler S. The connecting-rods of these engines are attached to the shaft E.

The boiler and engines-may be of ordinary construction, and therefore do not require a minute description.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

The carriageis propelled along in consequence 'of the pinions 0 c of shaft E gearing into the wheels d d, which are attached to the wheels B B of the carriage. The carriage is guided by'turning the shaft A, the rope D moving the axle a. As the carriage moves along the shaft J is rotated through the medium of the gearing 0 c d d ff I I It It. As the shaftJ rotates the plows K turn over the ground, and the plows are allowed to rise and fall to conform to theinequalities of the surface of the ground in consequence of the shaftJ being placed in the arms K K. r

The rotation of the shaft J, and consequently of the plows K, may be stopped at any time by the operator turning the shaft H, the arms '13 t and rods h h actuating levers G G and moving the pinionsff out ofgear with the wheels d d.

In case obstructions should lie in the path of shafts N N will be rotated and the ropes or chains n n wound upon said shafts and the arms K K and plows K elevated. The pawls t on the levers R R serve to hold up the plows.

The lips u act the levers being at one side of the ratchets Q and the levers R at the other Side, cause the shafts N to be moved by a lateral adjustment of the levers R. The plows and their shaft are allowed to descend at any time byraising the levers B so that their pawls t may clear the ratchets Q.

1 do not claim broadly the employment or use of rotary plows, for they have been previously used; but I do claim as new and desire to Letters Patent- 1. The arrangement of the levers G G, sliding pinionsffon shaft F, and the gearingI I 70 k on the shafts F J, essentially as shown, whereby the plows K may be rotated or stopped instantly at the will of the operator or-attendant.

2. The arrangement of the levers R R,,Wlth pawls t and lips 24 attached, the ratchets Q on the hollowshafts N N, the clutchesp q, gearing P on the shafts 0,011 which the hollow shafts N are placed, and the ropes or chains n n, attached to the cross-bar M of the arms K, essentially as shown, for the purpose of elevating the'shaftJand its plows K when desired.

WM. H. H. MILLEN.

secure by Witnesses:

JOHN M. CHARLTON, GEORGE F. MINER.

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