US360019A - Mowing-machine - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

. H. L. HOPKINS.

MOWING MACHINE.

No. 360,019. Patented Ma1n29, 1887.

(No ModeLj 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. L. HOPKINS.

MOWING MACHINE.

No. 360,019. Patented Mar. 29, 1887.

V 27 if/a r27 q/s PATENT F F ICE.

HARVEY L. HOPKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MOWlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 360,019, dated March 29, 1887.

Application filed April 26, 1886. Serial No. 200,207.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, I'IARVEY L. HorKms, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mowing-Machines, which are fully set forth in the following specification, reference being bad to the accompanying dra wings, in which- Figure 1 represents a plan of a machine embodying my improvements; Fig. 2, a detail plan of the portion of the main frame to which the fingerbearn is coupled; Fig. 3, a detail section taken on the line w m, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a front elevation of the pitman and its connec tions; and Fig. 5, a detail section taken on the line y y, Fig. 1.

My present invention relates to certain iinprovements upon the mowingmachine described and shown in Letters Patent No. 307, 948, granted to me November 11, 1884:.

The object of the present improvements is to maintain the register between the knives and the guard-fingers in the various positions of the finger-beam, especially when the latter is tilted, or when subjected to backward thrust.

I will proceed to describe in detail one way in which I have carried out my invention in practical form, and will then point out definitely in the claims the special improvements which I believe to be new and wish to protect by Letters Patent.

The machine to which these improvements have been applied is in all its general features like that described and shown in my prior patent mentioned above, and reference is made to said patent for a general description of this machine. I have here shown and described only such parts of this machine as are necessary to understand the construction and operation of the present improvements.

It is well known that for the efficient working of the cutting apparatus in mowing-machines it is necessary that the knives or cutters shall register with the guard-fingers, or, in other words, that the point of each knife shall move from the center of one guard to the center ofthe next in the reciprocating movement of the cutter. In all mowing-machines of ordinary. construction the point of attachment of the pitman to the cutter-bar is somewhat lower than the pitman-c-onnection to the crank-wheel, as illustrated in Fig. i of the drawings. It is obvious, then, that if the cutter-bar is elevated above its usual operative position the register will be disturbed, for if the shoe and guard-fingers be raised straight upward they will be brought more nearly into a straight line with the crank-wheel, and consequently nearer to the latter, while the distance between the cutter-bar and said wheel must always remain the same, as it is regulated by the length of the pitman.

If, as in some constructions, the shoe is raised in the arc of a circle by the vertical vibration of a conplingarm, the register will also be destroyed, for the center of vibration of the couplingarm is not usually coincident with the center of vibration of the pitman in the same movement; hence the shoe and the joint between the pitman and the cutter-bar will be varied in their relation.

It is also evident that if the finger-beam is thrown out of accurate alignment with the crank-wheel by the movement backward or forward of the outer end of the beam a similar disturbance of the register will be produced.

The machine to which reference has been made belongs to that class having a rocking or tilting finger-beam, and it is obvious that in all machines of this class the tilting upward of the fingers will elevate the cutter-bar and so disturb the register, as described above that is, provided the finger-beam is tilted directly upward without any lateral movement. In this machine and all others in which the finger-beam is connected to the mainframe by hinge-joints of any kind there is always more or less vibration of the finger-beam backward at its outer end, for it is not the custom and is not desirable to make the connectingjoints tight or close-fitting; and even if the joints were ordinarily tight the wear of the machine would soon produce sufficient looseness to occasion the backward vibration referred to. Obviously this movement will disturb the register between the knives and guard-fingers, as explained above;

It is-the purpose of my present improvements to overcome these difficulties, so as to maintain the register between the knives and guard-fingers under the movement to which the finger-beam is subjected in actual work.

In the drawings, A represents the main frame of the machine, which is mounted on the main axle, to which the supporting and driving wheels B are applied. This frame is provided with a central portion, a, which in this instance droops forward, and the crankshaft is mounted thereon, carrying at its outer end a crank-wheel, 0, with the ordinary crankpin, 0, to which the upper end of the pitman D is connected, being attached at its lower end to the cutter-bar E, which is provided with ordinary knives or cutters, e. The fingerbeam F and guard-fingers f are of usual con struction, and the inner shoe, G, is provided with an extension or coupling arm, g, which is connected by a knuckle or swiveling-piece, H, to a coupling-piece or bracket, I, which is pivoted at its lower end to a stationary bracket, J, on the main frame, the same as in my former patent heretofore mentioned.

The pivoted coupling-piece or bracket l is vibrated back and forth to tilt the finger-beam, as described in the said patent, and is held and guided at its upper end by a lip or guide flange, j, on the fixed bracket J, which fits over and embraces a flange, i, on the couplingpiece, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. Now, in my former patent the guideway for the vibrating couplingpiece is parallel to the drooping arm of the main frame,

or to the crank-shaft, and so the vibration of the coupling-piece, and consequent tilting of the finger-beam, are on right lines also parallel to the crankshaft, thereby producing the disturbance of the register between the knives and guard-fingers which has been described. In the present instance I construct this fixed bracket J with its outer face inclining outward from the crank-shaft as it extends to the rear, as shown in Figs. 1 and- 2 of the drawings, in which the cap portion of the flangej is broken away to show this feature.

Now, it will be seen at once that the path of the vibrating coupling-piece I is not parallel to the crank-chaft, but is inclined outwardly therefrom from front to rear, so that as the coupling-piece is vibrated backward it will be gradually thrown outward from the crankshaft. The movement of the finger-beam and fingers, when tilted, corresponds to this movement of the coupling-piece, so that when the fingers are tilted upward the finger-beam is moved gradually and slightly outward, and upon the dropping of the fingers moves correspondingly inward. The degree of this movement is carefully adjusted to correspond with the ordinary change in distance between the finger-beam and crank-shaft when raised or tilted in theordinary way, so that the distance between the finger-beam or inner shoe and the crank-shaft will be maintained, notwithstanding the tilting of the finger beam, and being maintained,of course there will be no disturbance in the register between the knives and the guard-fingers.

In all positions of the finger beam when tilted the register of the knives with the guardfingers will be substantially perfect. This effect is produced because the knuckle is pivoted to the vibrating coupling-piece at apoint above the pivotal attachment of the latter to the fixed bracket, so that the outward movement of the coupling-piece will move the finger-beam outward to a corresponding degree.

The thrust-bar K is connected at its rear end to the mainframe preferably by a ball and socket. At its forward end it is pivoted to the inner shoe by-means of a pin, L, which passes through lugs g on the inner shoe and a hole, is, in the end of the bar, this latter opening being oval or elongated, as shown in Fig.

5 of the drawings, for a purpose which will be presently explained. Now, the hinge-connections between the finger-beam or inner shoe and the main frame being ordinarily loose, there will be some slight movement of the outer end of the finger-beam backward froma direct alignment with the crank-wheel. The outer end of the finger-beam is so far away from these hinge-joints that only a very slight movement at the joints will produce quite a variation at the outer end of the beam. This backward vibration will also produce a disturbance of the register between the knives and guardfingers, and it will constantly increase with the use of the machine, as the wearing of the joints will permit more and more backward movement of the finger-beam. To overcome this defect I place a strong buffer-spring, M, around the thrust-bar right back of the lugs g, which is held in place by a pin, m, passing through the bar. This spring is made sufficiently strong to hold the shoe forward firmly, so that the pivot-pin L will be held firmly against the thrust-bar at the forward end of the elongated opening 70, as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, in which position the fingerbeam is in proper alignment with the crank.

The spring is strong enough to resist the backward thrust upon the finger-beam in all ordinary work; but. if the fingerbeam .is

IICl

brought suddenly against some obstacle the spring will yield sufficiently to permit a vibration backward of the finger-beam, the elongation of the aperture It being provided for this purpose, and so breakage of the finger-beam or guard-fingers will be prevented. With these two devices the register between the knives and the guard-fingers will practically be maintained when the machine is at work, and the difficulties which were mentioned at the outset are therefore entirely overcome. These improvements have been thoroughly tested by considerable actual use, and have been found entirely sufficient and successful in securing the results herein described.

The improvements have been described as applied to the machine shown in the former patent to me; but I do not wish to be underthe devices to different types of machines. The actual devices employed mayalso be modified or changed in many instances without departing from the controlling features of my invention, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting this present invention to the actual devices herein shown and described, or their application to the particular machine referred to; but I do wish to be understood as claiming these and all similar devices applied to my patented mowing-machine, or any other mowing-machine, so as to accomplish the operation and result which are herein described and shown. The improvements may also be applied to any harvesting-machine, if desired.

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

1. In a mowing-machine, the main or gearing frame, in combination with a rocking or tilting finger-beam and devices whereby the finger-beam is moved bodily outward and inward lengthwise as the finger-beam is rocked, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a mowing-machine, the main or gearing frame, in combination with a rocking or tilting finger-beam and a vibrating couplingpiece to which the finger-beam is connected, and which is arranged to vibrate in a path inclined to the line of the crank-shaft, whereby the finger-beam is moved bodily lengthwise when the coupling-piece is vibrated, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The main or gearing frame A, provided with the bracket J, having its outer face inclined to the line of the crank-shaft, as specified, in combination with the coupling-piece I, pivoted to the bracket, and the finger'beam F, jointed to the coupling-piece, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. The finger-beam, in combination with the thrust-bar jointed to the finger-beam or shoe, and a spring arranged on the thrust-bar back of the said joint, whereby the finger-beam or shoe may yield backward on striking an obstacle, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The hinged finger-beam F, in combination with the thrust-bar K, pivoted to lugs g on the inner shoe, and the spring M, arranged on the bar and held between the pin m and lugs on the shoe, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. The inner shoe, G, provided with lugs g, in combination with the thrust-bar K, pro vided with an elongated opening, k, pivot-pin L, and bu'lfer-sprin g M, arranged on the thrustbar back of the lugs on the shoe, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

HARVEY L. HOPKINS.

\Vitnesses:

LEONARD WA'rsoN, G. E. FAULKNER.

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