US572511A - arover - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets--8heet 1.

(No Model'.) I. i H. M. GROVBRL, POTATO BIGGER. No. 572,511. Patented Dec. 1, 1896.

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I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. H. M. GROVER. v

POTATO BIGGER. v Patented Dec. 1, 1896.

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-35 Ewheels, andar'e also provided with angular UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

;11 r GROVER, or ANOKAQMINNESOTAQASSIGNOR or oNenALr ro To all whom it may concern.-

z'en oflthe United w as Improvements in hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear,

JOHN 1-1. NILES, or SAME rLAcE;

OTATO- srncrmcn rron forming Application filed March 21,

Be it known that LHENRY M. GROVER, a citi- States, residing at Anoka, in the countyof Anoka and State of Minnesota, have invented certain "new and useful Potato-Diggers; and I do and exact'description of the invention, suchas will enable others skilled in the :art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved potato-digger; and the inven tion consists in the novel features of construction which will be hereinafter described, andbedefined in the-claims:

The accompanying drawings illustrate the I invention, wherein, like letters referring to away;

likeparts'- e V I a Figure 1 is aplan view of the machine with someparts broken away. .Fig, 2 is a longir tudinal vertical section of the same approximately on the lines at of Fig; 1, with some parts shown in elevation'and others broken and Fig. 3 is a detail of the righthand lever for raising and lowering the scoopshovel and shifting the lower member of the double carrier elevator for throwing the driven parts in and out of 'gear with some parts broken away.

a represents-the main frame of'the machine,

. and is-provided with bearings a'-, -through which passes the axle I), having loosely mount- "edthereonthe supporting-wheels b. The

' supporting-wheels b are removably wheels in any sultable way which will ren- 4o 'der the same rigid. therewith.

e are provided with driving-g'ears b formed integral with the said or pointed traction shoes or claws b, which secured to the rims of the To the frame timbers a are fixed sidings 0?,

which are connected by a. top cross-deck or cover a a by an underneath cross-plate a.

and a boxbody'a and by an end cross-plate or box head a l ceptacle which receives and carries the potatoes, aswill subsequently be seen, until they aredroppedon the ground. The said hinged plate or box-gated" is held in its closed po- "A hinged plate a cooperates .with the parts a to complete the box or resition a button a 'as shown-,bm in pracpart 6r Letters Patent No. 572,,5 1, dated December 1, 189 6.

1895; Serial'No. aimed (NomodeL) I tice would be provided with connections (not shown) under the control of the driver seated onthe angular top deck a (L The sidingterials underthe act-ion of the elevator, as

will more fully later appear; and the said rear end cross-plate (t guard at which projects inward to the proper point for cooperationwith the elevator mem-v bers to separate thevines and potatoes-at the point of-their delivery,

- In 'theisidings a? is mounted carrier-shaft e with sprockets c ,and in bearings 0 dependingfrom theframe timbers Ct or the said sidings a is mounted carrier-shaft with sprockets c On-thesaid sprockets c and 0 carried by the saidrespective shafts c and c, are mounted chains 2 with teeth 0'',

which shafts, sprockets, and toothed chains constitute and operate the upper endless carrier, which cooperates with the lower endlesscarrier, aswill prese'ntly'be noted, to form the elevator. r

- On the shaft 0' are pivotedhangevarmsd,

of does not is provided with a dividingin the" lower ends of-which are mounted a shaft (1', having sprockets (1 Toeach of the bearings c is pivoted a three-armed casting f f To thearm' f of this casting is attacheda hand-lever f In the arms f of the said angular castings is mounted a shaft d having sprockets d. On the sprockets d and d carried by the, shafts d and dfi respectively-,'are mounted chains (1 having fixed thereto buckets d whichparts cooperate to form and operate an endless carrier, constituting the lower carrier of the elevator.

and d are mounted sleeves the said shafts 01' (1 which are connected by rods cl, suitably spaced from each other for forming an open deck for the said carrier (1 d.

The lower-carrier shaft (1 extends outward beyond its hearings in the lever-arms f and -is provided with pinions 47?, which may be porting-wheels bto the pinions d and the shaft d will drive, through the connections hitherto named, the-two cooperating endless carriers o and (1 so that vtheir. opposing'sur faces or faces will both run in the same direction and cooperate in the elevating action. In this connection it may be further noted that the teeth 0 on the upper carrier 0 and the buckets d on the lower carrier (1 are so related that the said teeth 0 will work be tween the buckets 03 throughout the cooper:

, "ating portion of their travel.

To the carrier-shaft d are pi voted the upper arms of the side bars g of the unearthing scoop-shovelg g. y The said side barsg are also connected by links 9 to theforward arms f of the lever-castings fff hitherto noted. At their forward ends the side bars g are provided with colters g and between the said,

side bars g, at their forward ends, is removably secured the shovel g. bars g of the scoop, directly back of the shovel g, is mounted a trundle-wheel g, the shaft of which wheel is provided with sprockets 9 connected by chains g 'with sprockets gion the shaft d The said parts g g g v the forward arms f of the lever-castings,

impart to said trundlewheel motion in the same direction as the travel of the carrier d In virtue of the pivotal connection of the scoop-shovel g. g to the carrier-shaft d and the connections through the links 9 with which are under the control of the hand-levers f it is obvious that by the said levers f the scoop-shovel g g and all the parts carried thereby may be raised and lowered into or out of their working position by the same movement which swings the lower carrier of the elevator forward or backward, so as to throw the p'iuions d into or out of gear with r the drivers bion the supporting-wheels b. The levers f 3 are of such construction and so set as to bear against loclosegments f and spring into engagement with either one of two lock-notches f therein for holding the said levers in either one of their two-extreme positions, as may be required for holding the working parts intheir idle and ative positions, respectively.

The tongue-base or draft attachment h. h

h is pivoted to a cross-rod h, secured to the in their operforward portions of the frame-timbers a. The

said tongue-base is provided with a rearward extension h, which underreachesacross-bar hi, fixed to the top of the frame-timbers a. The said cross-bar h is provided, with a fixed In the said side I nut -h in which works a hand-screw b extending through the part h of the tongue, and provided, as shown, with a pinned or fast collar h and a Washer 71 underneath the tongue part h. the outer endlof the tongue may be adjusted in respect to the main frame by manipul-ating the-hand-screw h Under the distribution of the-weight from the forward endof the main frame on the tongue and under the strain on the shovel when in working position the tendency will be to pull-down the lower end of thetongue on the hand-screw 72-.

Hence by raising or lowering the said hand- WVith this construction screw h the anglevof the tongue to the main framemay be fixed as desired. The frametimbers a are shown as connected directly behind the cross-bare by afoot-board a; The driver is supposed to occupy the top sectiona of the deck asa seat, with his feet 'on the the hand-levers f and the hand-screw h t Having regard to the operation the action J unearththe potatoes, and the traction claws or shoes 6 also extending into the ground under the weight of the machine toprevent' 'crossboard-a, so as to be within reach of Loc slippage of the wheels under the driving strain required therefrom torun the elevator-carriers and the trundle-wheel. Supposing the parts to be thus set, then under the forward motion of the machine the scoop-shovel will unearth the potatoes and deliver the same, to-

gether with thevines and more or less of the I earth, to the trundle-wheel. The trundleshovel and, separating out a. large part of the earth, will deliver the potatoes tothe buckets IIC wheel will receive these materials from the d of the lower carrier d and will throw the vines and other foreign materials between the two carriers of the elevator.

Under the f cooperating action of the elevator-carriers the vines will be engaged by the teeth 0 of the upper carrier '0 and be thrown out to the rear of the machine over the guard a and the potatoes will be carried upward by the b'nckets'd of the'lower carrier at and delivered from the said buckets at their turn over the upper sprockets d into the mouth of the box or receptacle a (2- When the box is loaded to its capacity or any desired extent, the door or gate a will be lowered and the potatoesemptied into a pile on the ground or into any receptacle desired. When it"i's desired to turn the machine or throw the same into an idle position, the levers f are drawn backward by the driver, which, as hitherto noted,

will swing the lower carrier forward, so as to throw thepinions d out of gear with the drivers 11 and will raise the scoop-shovel into I the full-lineposition shown inFig. 3,'so that the'shovel or" blade 9 will stand above the leveloftheground.

From the foregoing description it is obvious that mytmachine is of comparatively? simple and cheap construction. By actual experience I have demonstrated the efficiency of the machine for the purposes hadin view. 1o It will beunderstood that changes might bemade in the details of constructi0n -with-' out departing fromthe spirit of my invention. A In respect to the action it should beffurther noted. that while subject'to the elevating-car 15 riers the chunks of dirt WilLbe broken up and to a large extent dropped out in the progress up the elevator, or at the turn of-the lower carrier at the upper or delivery end of the same;- v

What I claim,"and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

5 1.- In a potato-digger, the combination with supportingtand driving wheels, of anendless elevator having a pair of carrie'r-sh'aiftsspaced apart by a swingingframepneof whiohshafts is provided with a driven gear-iwheel thatv re ceives motion from said driving-wheel and parallelpivoted hangers, supporting said carrier-frame for permitting the driven gearwheel carried thereby to be swung intoand out of gear with said driving-wheels, substantiallyras described.

2. The combination with the supporting and driving wheels b b of the elevator having the carrier shaft (2 with pinjons d engageable with the driving-gears, the scoop-shovel g g pivoted to said shaft cl g'the pivotedhanger d supportingthe shaft d, the sprockets d and 40 d on said shafts'di-and (1 the carrier cP-with bucliets cl mounted on said sprockets,- the pivoted castings ff f with hand-lever f, in the. arms f of which is mounted the shaft d and the other arms f of which are connected by the links 9 to'said scoop g g substantially as described.

In testiniony wh'creor I aflix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

HENRY M. GROVER. 'Witnesses:

JAs. F. WiLLIAMsoN,

:L II. NILEs.

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