US84133A - Improvement in droppers for harvesters - Google Patents

Description

mann serresy PATENT union.

a. L. rnfrnus Ann (3.1M. rnrnns,'or LANcAsrn-n, onto. Y

IMPROVEMENT IN DROPPERS FOR HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 84,133, dated November 17, 1868.

.To all whom it may concern Beit linorvnthative, A. L. PETERS and G. M. PETERS', both of Lancaster, county of Fairfield, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Droppers or DischargingPlatfoIms for Harvesters and We do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specication, in Wl1ich- Figure l is a perspective view of aharvestin g-machine, taken from the front grain-corner of the machine, and showing, in black and red liu es,the receiving and dischargingpositions of the platform and cut-off. Fig. 2 is an inverted planor bottom view of the same; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are detached views of parts of the machine, hereinafter described.

Similar letters of reference, denote corre-l sponding parts in all the figures.

The object of the various constructions of droppers in use has been to effect the discharge of the cut grain deposited upon the platform of the machine by the operation or movement of said platform itself, in such manner as to dispense with the complicated and frequently cumbrous mechanism consequent upon the employment of the vvarious raking 'attachment-s in use. The platform itself is, of

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course, indispensable to either process; and if such platform can be madeto accomplish both functions-viz., that of receiving 4and holding the grain until a suicient quantity to form a gavel or sheaf` has accumulated thereon, and then of discharging it in compact form on the ground-the advantage of such construction would be obvious, for, aside from the great additional weight of the machine provided with any of the various raking attachments in use, the vexatious delays to which farmers, in the hurry of the grain-harvest, are subjected by the disarrangement or breakage of parts of the complicated machinery usuallyr employed to drive these raking attachments, and which it is frequently beyond the skill ofthe farmer and the reach of the manufacturer to remedy, are such as often to lead the farmer to regard them as of doubtfulutility, and to cause many, in preference to being subjected thereto, to dispense with them, and to depend entirely upon the reliable but more laborious process of discharging the grain by hand.

The simplicity of the operation of discharging the grain by the simple movement or tilting of the platform, on the other hand, is such as to predispose the farmer to regard it with favor, and many attempts have consequently been made to so construct and operate the platform'as to dispense with the usual process of raking off the gra-in therefrom. In these droppin g-platforms, as ordinarily constructed, after a quantity of grain sufficient to form a gavel had accumulated thereon, said platform was made to vibrate upon a xed pivot or shaft, arranged in line parallel with the fingerbar of the machine, until it was sufficiently inclined to the rear to cause the grain to slide oftl upon the ground behind the cutting appa1 4ratus and platform, and directly in the path of the team and machine on the next round,

and the grain had to be bound and removed as fast as it was cut, thereby necessitating the employment of a larger forcev than would otherwise have been necessary, or it was liable to be run over and trampled upon in such manner as to cause great Waste o f the grain.

Attempts have been made to construct a dropper which Would effect the discharge of l the gra-in upon one side, at a point out of the Way of the machine on the next round; but in all of these with which We are acquainted the opera-tion was not performed and the discharge of the grain was not effected in such manner Aas to warrant their adoption by manufacturers or meet the approval of the farming community.

The object of our invention is to effect the delivery of the grain by the movements of the platform itself, in such manner as to leave the grain deposited upon the ground in a neat and compact form for binding until properly cured, and out of the Way of the team and machine on the next round, whereby the waste consequent upon the usual modes of discharging the grain by the movement of Vthe platform is avoided; and this object, it is believed, is fully attained by this invention, the nature ofwhich Will be understood from the following description, reference being had to the drawings, in Which- A represents the platform, composed, in this instance, of a number of light slats or rods, a, arranged in rea-r of the cutting apparatus, and in lines parallel with the path of the machine,

though, if preferred, any other construction, y such as a solid platform, or one composed of slats lying parallel with the nger-bar, may be employed 5 but, for the purpose of lightness andeasydischarge of the grain, we prefer the arrangement shown. These slats are secured, at their forward end, to a bar arranged in aline parallel with the nger-bar, and the platform thus constructed is pivoted or hin ged, on its under surface and at a point forward of its center, to a platform-bar, B, as shown in Fig. 2, also in red lines, Fig. 1.

The bar B is provided on its forward edge with a series of teeth, b, which project upward in front of the platform when the latter is in position to receive the grain, and while it is being moved to its point of discharge, said teeth,(only a few of which are shown) extendingthe entire width of the platform, and serving to hold the grain properly thereon until the platform is tilted to discharge it.

The bar B is supported upon the ends of two parallel arms, C C', and is connected thereto bymeans of vertical. pivots, and the opposite ends of arms C C are pivoted in like manner to horizontal lugs onthe finger-bar, or bar and shoe, in such manner as to allow said arms to vibrate freely thereon, and to operate like the links of a parallel rule, so as to v allow the platform to vibrate inthe arc of a circle froml a position in rear of the cutting apparatus to one in rear of the main frame of the machine. (Shown in red lines, Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.)

In the drawings, Fig. 3, we have shown the inner supporting ear or lug formed on the shoe or heel-extension thereof and made in the form of a cam or ,inclined plane, so that as the platform is .swung outward to its position behind the frame it will be slightly raised, sufficiently to give it ample room to be so tilted as to quickly and effectively dump or discharge the "W grain, and to permit its return 'to its position to receive the grain without `dan ger of being obstructed by the surface over which the machine is drawn. f A f An angular extension, c, of one or both the arms C C projects underneath a metallic bar or rib on the under side of the platform, and serves to hold the platform in proper position to receive the grain until said platform reaches its point of discharge behind the main frame, when the withdrawal of said extension by the movement of the arm, as represented in Fig. 2, allows the platform to tilt and discharge the grain; and as the platform starts back to receive another gavel said extension is pressed back underneath the rib a2, and the platform s adgain raised to receive and retain another The inner parallel link or arm, Cf, has formed upon or attached to it a lshort perforated arml or lug, D, to which one end of a pitman, E, is connected, the opposite end of said pitm an being slotted, as shown at c, and embracing a crank, F, on the inner end of the main drive wheel aXle4 Gr.

The platform is vibrated back and forth by this means, and the slot in the pitman allows it to rest at each end of its stroke sufficiently long to Vproperly receive the gavel and allow for its discharge.

The crank-arm is connected with the axle by a clutch, and is placed under the control of the opera-tor by means of a shipping-lever, H.

It will be apparent that while the platform is removed and is being operated to discharge the gavel, it fis necessary to make some provision to receive and hold the falling grain, and for this purpose we provide a cut-off or rod, l. Said cut-off is made in an angular form, (see Fig. 1.,) and is pivoted at its opposite ends in arms J J, at a point or points in rear of and above the iinger-bar, and is provided at its inner end with a crank-arm, I', which has connected with it one end of a pitman, the opposite end of which is connected with a bellcrank lever, K, the attachment of the pitman at either or both ends being such as to provide for the adjustment of the throw of the bail-rod or cut-oft' I, as may be desired.

The construction of lever K is shown in Fig. 5, the lower horizontal arm, 7c, being forked, to adapt it to receive and be operated upon by a cam-rod, L, attached to and turning with the inner platformbar or link, C. The crank-lever Kis pivoted in lugs or an upright, K', as shown in Fig. l.

The operation ofthe cut-off is as follows: The platform being in position represented in black lines, Fig. l, the bail or cut-off is elevated sufficiently high to allow the grain, as it is cut, to fall underneath the same and upon the platform, without obstruction therefrom. As the platform is swung away from the cutting apparatus to discharge its load, the cam-rod L acts upon the forked cranklever, throwing the upper end forward, and forces the rod or cut-off downward and forward to a position (shown in the red lines, Fig. l) adapting it to receive and hold the grain until the return of the platform reverses the movement of the crank-lever and raises the rod or cut-off, allowing the cut grain accumulated thereon to fall upon the plat-form, which is again in position to receive it.

By the construction and mode of operation described it will be seen that the first movement of the platform as it starts to discharge its load is directly backward from the cutting apparatus. This movement serves to remove it out of the way of obstruction from the falling grain and the platform and cut-oft' supports. Simultaneously with this rst movement of the platform the cut-off is brought down and interposed to receive the falling grain. The platform is then swung to the rear of the frame, maintaining its parallel relation to the cutting apparatus, is at the same time raised out of the way of an VYthin 1 y would interfere with its freedom in tilting, andI isthen tilted to the rear on the hin ge or pivot, at right angles to the path of the machine, after which it is returned to receive another gavel.

The iin ger-bar may be provided on its rear edge with a ledge or rib, which will hold the stub ends of the grain, and assist the eut-0E while the platform is removed, in a manner that will be readily understood.

Ne have shown our invention applied to that class or construction known as the Ball7 machine, and all the parts are so arranged as to adapt them to conform freely to the movements of the hinged or iioating bar used in said machine; but it will be apparent that our improvement may be readily applied to any and all of the various constructions of -rigid and hinged bar machines in use without the aid of other than mere mechanical skill to adapt them thereto.

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A dumping-platform which is adapted to be' swung or vibrated in the are of a circle to a position behind the frame for discharging the gavel, while at the same time it preserves its parallelism with the finger-bar.

\ 2. The tilting or dumping platform7 in combination with means for operating the same, whereby said platform is adapted to be swung to a position behind the main frame, and there tilted upon a pivot or hinge parallel with the platform, and at right angles to the path of the machine, as set forth.

3. The parallel arms or links C C., or their lof a circle, the center of which is in rear of and below said cut-off, as described.

7. The inclined way or cani on the heel of the shoe or drag-bar for raising the platform as it is swung to the rear of the frame for the discharge of the gavcl, substantially as described.

8. The angular extension of the platformarm C', or its equivalent, operating in combination with the platform, substantially as described.

9. The forked lever, or its equivalent, for

A operating the cnt-olf, in combination with the vibrating cam or cani-rod on the platform-arm G or platform, substantially as described.

10. `The combination of the swinging and tilting platform, cut-off, and means for operating the saine, substantially as described.

i A. L. PETERS. G. M. PETERS. Witnesses SYLvEsrnn E. Lreinfr, Cnnnnns L. Ecnnn'r, A. M. DUBoc, T. It. PETERS.

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